Wraith and Love
by t.j.guard
Summary: Once upon a time, a boy fell through a portal to a new world, one he thought was without magic. But he was wrong, and he spent months in a life and death struggle with the ruler of the land. He had help from other kids of the forest. Together, they worked to find a way out of their world, and several months after his arrival, it was a success. This is where the real story begins.
1. Favor

Wraith and Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time

Favor

Emma scrawled a quick label on a file folder and put the appropriate papers in it before storing it in her cabinet. Someone knocked on the door, but by the time she turned around to face the visitor, Mr. Gold had let himself in. "What...are you doing here?" she asked.

"I've decided that this particular case can't wait anymore," he replied.

"Yeah?"

Gold sighed and bowed his head. When he looked at Emma again, he said, "Do you remember our deal?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I need you to do something for me. Now before you say anything, it's nothing illegal, and I've checked everything out so that it doesn't erupt into a huge mess that can't be cleaned up, and I believe in fixing certain things."

"Okay, so what are you doing here?" Gold stepped forward, reached into a pocket inside his jacket, and produced a small paper folded into fourths. He handed the paper to Emma, who unfolded it to reveal a portrait of a boy with long black hair, dark eyes, and a smile. Emma looked from the portrait to Gold and back again. "Is this your son?" Gold paused. That was all the answer she needed, and they both knew it. "What do you want me to do?"

"Find him."

Should be relatively easy, she thought. "Has he been reported missing?"

"Not by me. You and I both know trouble is the last thing I want."

"How old was he when you last saw him?"

"Sixteen."

"Then he ended up on the street somewhere or in the system. Or, God willing, he found himself a nice, loving family and got adopted."

"I just want to find him, and I need your help to do it."

"Why me?"

"Well, it's not like I trust that writer with anything, and we all know Regina likes it when you're busy."

"So, you're trying to get her to lighten up a little."

"Sure, let's go with that." Gold slapped on his usual smile.

"That's our story, then. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Emma," Gold whispered. He turned and walked out of the office. Emma watched him disappear and then stared at the portrait in her hands without really seeing it.

Unsure of what to do with it, she folded it up and hid it in the desk drawer, under Henry's book.


	2. Mission

Mission

The butt of the arrow was already against the string of the bow. He stepped carefully to avoid snapping any twigs and giving away his position. The edge of the forest and the beginning of the inner bubble were in sight and sensing range, but he continued on. The mission depended on it, his friends' lives depended on it.

He stepped out into the world and felt the shift of energy that was characteristic of the inner bubble. For the barest instant, he wondered if he could be able to continue on, but he stepped deeper into the world beyond the forest seemingly without incident.

The clearing, for that was what it technically was, went on for miles in front of him. A river cut through the valley below, and nestled at the edge, toward the far edge of the forest surrounded by the Ring, was the city. His target.

He crept down the slope toward the river, arrow ever at the ready, waiting for the guards to come for him and kill him, just like they killed all the others who'd gotten that close. But for yards, he could see no one but the people in the city, partying. Perhaps all the guards were there, protecting the prince and his court. Or they were lying in wait across the river, so they could be on call if the prince and his court needed protecting.

A flash of gold at the edge of the clearing caught his attention, and he flicked his eyes to the blonde young woman in the same brown pants, boots, and vest, white shirt, and green cap he was wearing. She, too, had her arrow at the ready. He was certain that they were both waiting for the same thing, something he suspected she was also suspecting would ever come.

He stepped onto a stone that stuck out of the surface of the water. After steadying himself, he stepped onto another rock, and then another, until he was halfway across the river and had run out of rocks to use. He studied the distance between himself and the opposite bank, and then he jumped.

His foot slipped on the bank, but he managed to get to his feet without getting wet. The girl that had decided to join him had crossed the river at a narrower part and thus had done so more easily. She was already fifteen feet ahead and still about fifty feet away but coming closer. After all, they had a shared objective.

He made his way across the rest of the clearing. The dark energy of the inner bubble became denser as he approached the city, making the hairs on his body stand on end. He let out a breath he suspected he'd been holding since the river crossing and began to focus his thoughts on the task at hand. Get to the city, as close as you can to the prince, kill as many guards as possible, get out before you get killed, preferably with the Robin Hood in tow. Those had been his orders, and he suspected that those were his companion's orders, as well, even though they'd been separated weeks before in preparation for this.

His foot slipped on a patch of mud well hidden by grass, and he stumbled a few steps before recovering himself at the base of the small, low hill. The girl looked at him, and he nodded a reassurance. She continued on, and he did the same.

Two guards who were supposed to be manning the gate were playing a card game, drinking, and lauging about the many favorite games of the prince, including killing the kids in the forest. He crouched low and took aim, and within seconds both had arrows in their necks.

He glanced at his companion and gestured for her to come over. She ran to him, took one look at the gatesmen, and nodded. They ran through the gate and ducked behind the first poor merchant's stall they could find. He paid off the merchant with a couple coins, and the merchant gave them directions to the square. The two nodded their thanks and made their way down several alleys and side streets, keeping to the general direction the merchant had given them.

In one of the alleys, she pulled him aside and pointed to the group of guards surrounding a youth in a green cap, brown vest, boots, and pants, and white shirt. "Fallon," she whispered.

"Robin Hood number fifteen," he replied, readying an arrow.

"No. These ones aren't distracted. You kill one, we're found and executed along with him."

He took the arrow out of the bow and slipped it back into his quiver. "Alright, what do we do?"

"Follow me." She walked out of the alley and down the walk after the guards. He was quick to follow, even though his companion was a tough young woman to lose. They kept to the area behind the merchants' stalls, where they could be reasonably certain of eluding capture.

The guards moved right for the square. Public execution, the two thought, unbeknownst to each other. She slipped him an arrow, and he readied his bow. The closer they got to the square, the more guards were concentrated within the city's population. He passed her an arrow, and he crossed the street to the other side of the square.

At his signal, they both fired into the group of guards. Two went down with injuries to the neck and shoulder, and Fallon got the signal and took up the fight.

His two rescuers disappeared out the back gate and into the forest.


	3. Moving and Being Still

Moving and Being Still

Emma pulled the book and portrait out of her desk drawer, unfolded the portrait, and opened the book, scanning the images. They were of the same style as the portrait, of that she was sure, but it wasn't much.

Her focus shifted away from the book, and she began to wonder if Gold had been lying to her. Even without her superpower, though, she could tell that the sheer emotion of the pawn shop owner's request couldn't be faked. He really was looking for his son, and he really did need help.

Granted, she heard from Henry that Gold thought August was his son, and that turned out to be false. Of course, that was Pinocchio, so was that really any surprise?

So Emma began to think that she'd been contacted because Gold trusted her on some level. He trusted her to at least get a job done and done right.

"Hey, Emma," Henry said, jerking her out of her thoughts.

"What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Came to see you. What're you doing?"

Emma turned toward the portrait. "Gold asked me to find someone."

"Oh." Henry picked up the portrait and took the book from Emma's hands. "Let me show you." He turned right to a story near the back of the book, entitled 'Robin Hood and his Merry Men,' and lay the portrait next to the title page.

"Robin Hood's a legend, not a fairy tale."

"You met the Mad Hatter, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"According to this book, Sherwood's trapped in a bubble where kids are taken to get killed. See this kid?" Henry gestured to the picture, and then he turned a page and showed Emma the image on the other side, that same young man wearing a green cap with a feather in it. The youth had a bow and arrow at the ready, firing at something in front of him but not pictured. Emma took the portrait and held it up side-by-side with the image from Henry's book. "This kid was supposed to go to a land without magic. He ended up in a cursed forest instead. At least, that's what the story says."

"And if the other stories in this book are real, then you think that this one is, too."

"Yeah."

"So this kid that Gold is looking for isn't in Storybrooke. He's in this Sherwood place."

OUAT

Gold walked away from the door of the Sheriff's office, out of the precinct building, and down the street to his pawn shop. When he reached the shop, he found Regina waiting for him. "Your Majesty," he said, nodding to her.

"What the hell are you doing?" she snapped.

"Trying to find someone. Is that so wrong, dearie?"

"Depends on who it is."

"What's the fun in telling you that?"

"I'm not in it for fun," Regina growled. "I have to keep my curse intact."

"It's not forever, dearie. Nothing lasts that long. Not even diamonds, but they do come close."

"Then I need my curse to last just as long, if not longer."

Gold smiled, and then he leaned toward her and said through gritted teeth, "I didn't design it that way." He walked into the office without waiting for a response.

OUAT

Fallon ran into the south Sherwood forest before he even made sure the guards who'd been leading him to his death had all met their makers. In a clearing, he found his rescuers, a boy and a girl from two different units. Between breaths, he said, "Thanks."

They nodded curtly in response, and the black-haired boy said, "We can't go back to the others. It's too dangerous, and we've got a better position here, anyway."

Fallon looked back at the city. "But can't they find us here?"

"They won't," the blond girl said. "They expect us to go back, even to take the long way. If we stay, and we stay undetected, we have the advantage."

"But I'm a wanted man. I can't stay."

"Then you keep going south until you reach the Ring. Then you follow it around. Maybe you can find an opening." The boy looked at the girl, but her attention was focused on the city, where guards scrambled through the gate and toward the forest. She turned toward Fallon. "Go. Now," she said, pushing him on his way. "There isn't time to waste."

Fallon tripped over his feet and looked over his shoulder at the girl, who pulled her companion along behind her as she headed west. He turned and ran.


	4. Planning

Planning

Emma and Henry walked into the pawn shop, and Emma took a deep breath. She leaned against the desk across which Mr. Gold stood and said, "We've got a theory, but it's a wild one."

"Let's hear it," Gold replied.

"You sure about this?"

"Trust me. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can take it."

"Your son isn't in Storybrooke."

"Well, yes, what time is it, thank you."

"We don't even think he's on Earth," Henry said, removing the book from his backpack and opening it to the page the portrait marked. "We think he's in Sherwood."

Gold studied the picture of the youth taking aim with a bow and arrow. "Sherwood?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, I think it's supposed to be some other world, like Wonderland," Emma replied.

"Technically a part of the Enchanted Forest, trapped in a bubble by someone I've been waiting for for a very, very long time."

Henry gave Emma a concerned look, but her eyes remained fixed on the pawn shop owner. "So I take it your son's not the only one you're trying to find."

"Yes." Gold looked up from the book, closed it, and handed it back to Henry. "If this theory is true, then there's only one way to get to him. One of the curses has to be broken."

OUAT

The girl pulled her companion west, to a tributary into the river that crosses the clearing. She settled onto a rock, panting, and watched the boy stand at the bank of a river with his arms akimbo, staring out into the forest. "We've come so far today," he said. "And now we have to run and hide."

"But we've found our next position," she replied, "which is above and beyond our orders."

He turned back toward her. "I'm sick of running and hiding, and I'm sick of others promoting running and hiding." He adjusted the quiver strap on his shoulder. "We need a plan, and then we're going back."

"You're out of your mind."

"And you're sane?"

"None of us chose to come here," she snapped.

"But as I recall, you chose to go on this mission with me."

"Because I believe in you, Bae."

Both stopped. He hadn't heard his real name or even his nickname in months, and if she was who he thought she was, then she probably hadn't used it in just as long, if not longer. "What do you believe in me for?" he asked in a soft voice.

"You're a fighter. You're strong, just like your namesake the fire, and I chose this because from the first, I knew who you were. I know your true name, and I suspect that you know mine." Bae bowed his head and turned back toward the river. She rose and lay a hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter, anyway. We have only each other and our fight."

"And what if there's no fight left?" he asked, turning toward her. "What happens then?"

"It depends on the outcome of the fight. If we win, we can go home."

"If there's anything to go back to." He bowed his head again. "Time flows differently here, remember?"

She leaned closer to him. "The Dark One is immortal," she whispered. He jerked his shoulder out from under her hand. She nodded and stepped up to the bank of the river. "Don't waste arrows on the guards, especially when we're so far away from camp."

"Can we hold the position?"

"If not, then we have to get into the city and hide there until it's safe to move again."

"We could get captured and killed in the city more easily than anywhere else in Sherwood, more easily than any_one_ else, even. Remember the citizens of the city. They know us by their clothing, if they know nothing else of their reality."

"We're the easiest targets, yes, except the numbered ones, Fallon especially."

"But he made for the Ring in search of an opening."

"Our last chance at salvation if we can't kill the prince. And if he can come back to tell us where it is." She looked at him. "But whatever it comes to," he whispered, looking back, "we can't reveal our names, in any way."

"Right."

"Do you think they've gone?"

"One way to find out."

Bae and his companion walked back the way they had come.


	5. Taking Action

Taking Action

Emma spun her coffee cup around on the tabletop of the corner booth as Henry wrote down everything they knew about the curse. "Okay, so here's where we're at. You believe, but the queen's still alive," he said.

"Because murder is illegal," she replied.

"This is a special circumstance."

"If the curse breaks and we end up still stuck here, I don't want to spend the rest of my life in prison because a ten-year-old told me a mayor was really an evil queen."

"Yeah, that's not much of a happy ending, and you'll end up in a mental institution, not jail. But anyway, the apple tree is pretty much dead, and she's getting desperate for a way to hold her curse together, and since Rumpelstiltskin designed it, that means she wants him to kill what he loves most."

"So he wants me to find his son...to protect him?"

"Most likely, but then there's Belle."

"Belle?"

"It's all in the book. The Evil Queen lied about what happened to her so Rumpelstiltskin would never see her again, and she needs her alive, especially now. She wanted to make sure that nobody except her gets a happy ending."

"She hated him, too?"

"Probably because he gave her mom the powers to take away her true love, even though her real revenge is for Snow."

"So she's trying to perpetuate the hell hole she created at the expense of the guy who owns the hell hole."

"Yeah."

Emma nodded and sipped some of her coffee. "If he even suspects anything, it sounds like Ms. Mayor is making herself a very dangerous enemy. And you know what they say about the enemy of your enemy being your friend." She sipped her coffee again.

Henry smiled. "I think I know what you're thinking, but we've got two problems now: the curse, and Rumpelstiltskin's happy ending."

"That means we don't just have to find his son. We have to find Belle."

He nodded. "Exactly." Henry looked out the window as Regina's car passed the diner and then said, "Let's go see what we find."

"You go, Henry. It's less suspicious if her son's poking around her place than if I am." Henry nodded again and walked out of the diner. Emma watched him disappear, all the while thinking that he had his own hunch about what was going on. It was likely, considering how much he knew about the curse.

Gold walked into the diner shortly after Henry left, walked straight to Emma's booth, and stared out the window. "It looks like he's figured something out," he said.

"That's what it looks like," she replied. "He thinks it might have something to do with the curse." Gold nodded in understanding. "That is what it's about now, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," he said, looking at her. "If it's the only chance I have of finding my son, then that's what it's about."

"All this is from a theory based on a storybook, and it's still not sitting too well with me. There's too much going on all at once."

"You get used to it, learn to weed out what doesn't matter at the current time." He sat in the booth and rubbed his leg.

"Looks like you had a pretty nasty injury, there," she said, glancing toward the leg in question.

"It was a long time ago," he replied. "It never fully healed, you see."

"Oh."

"So what was Henry after?"

"We-he-figured that the mayor wants you to save the curse by killing what you love most, which puts this son of yours in a dangerous situation, which makes protecting him and breaking the curse on Storybrooke a priority, but I heard you had a relationship a while back? I don't mean to pry or anything." Gold merely nodded, and Emma mirrored the gesture. "'Kay."

"Well, you have a lovely day," Gold said, standing. "I wish you the best."

"Thanks." She watched him walk away. Gold was interested in this case, more than he should be for a man who has a good life in a town he owns. Unless Henry was right that it wasn't really a happy ending. She picked up her coffee and walked out to her car.

OUAT

Henry had managed to get into Regina's office, rummage through it for hospital floor plans, and get out within five minutes. He passed the pawn shop on his way to the Sheriff's office, and he slipped inside without stirring up too much dust. Emma was at her desk, researching Sherwood and the Robin Hood legend. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him. Besides the two of them, the room was empty.

"I got 'em," he said, holding up the scroll.

"Got what?" she asked. He unrolled the plans and flipped a couple pages over, revealing a basement that Emma hadn't seen before. "Where did you get these?"

"Regina's office. Don't tell her."

"So you think this is the place to start looking for someone the mayor's keeping captive?" Henry nodded vigorously. She ran her eyes over the plans again. "Well, it's worth a shot. I think we're going to need her keys, though."

"Okay. Meet me tonight at the hospital, and make sure you take that." He gestured to the plans of the secret basement.

Emma nodded and rolled the blueprints back up and slipped them under her desk, carefully out of sight to anyone but the most observant. Henry said something about needing to get to school, and he was gone.


	6. Following Leads

Following Leads

Bae and his companion crouched behind a boulder, a position that gave them a clear view of the city and allowed them to go undetected. "So what are we waiting for, exactly?" Bae asked.

"For the prince's hunting party," she replied. "The traditional First Killing."

Bae swallowed and tried to dislodge the lump in his throat. Was it time for a First Killing already? His companion readied an arrow, and there they were, emerging from the city through the rear gate. The prince in a bright yellow monstrosity of a garment, his guards clad in black and silver, much like the royal men of the Enchanted Forest.

Bae smiled. His companion's army training and knowledge of proper positioning and timing amazed him. She took aim, and he readied an arrow.

She narrowed her eyes, taking aim at the prince's forehead, but one of the guards moved in front of him, and she lowered her weapon and swore softly. Bae glanced at her and then at the prince and his guards. "Change of plan," she whispered once they were out of sight, and she set off after them. Bae followed out of a blend of eagerness, curiosity, and the desire to finally end this sick game of His Highness'.

The royal party had moved several yards into Sherwood before turning and circling around the city toward camp. Bae and the blond followed, arrows ever ready.

This little stalking game continued until around noon, when the party made camp. She nodded to him, and they took up positions on opposite sides of the camp. She flicked her eyes toward him, and they fired simultaneously. In the chaos caused by two shot guards, they managed to fire upon the rest of them, injuring seven out of eight, the eighth managing to get the prince out of the forest before she could get to him.

She swore again, more loudly, but they took up the packs of food the guard and his prince had left behind in their haste. "We came so close, too," she muttered.

"We're not going to find food like this in Sherwood," Bae replied, more in an effort to reassure her. She instead turned to shoot him. He held his hands up and whispered, "M, we'll find another way. If the First Killing is traditional, then he'll have to come back. He'll just take a different way. He'll cross the clearing, straight for our camp."

"And the slaughter will begin again. We had a good position, Bae, and we nearly lost it."

"Morraine," he said. Her mouth set in a thin line, and she turned and continued down the path without looking back at him.

OUAT

Emma parked three blocks away from Storybrooke General Hospital, met Henry one and a half blocks away, and kept him close as she finished the short journey. Henry produced a key ring, and he and Emma smiled conspiratorially to each other. He led her around to the back door and let her in, and she produced the blueprints, which they used as a map to lead them down a stairwell to the basement. They only paused when Henry needed to find a key.

Emma followed Henry down the stairs and down a hall to a small office. Henry searched the keyring, opened the office door, and began rummaging through the filing cabinet, using pictures as his guide. Emma mostly hung back.

He pulled a file out of the cabinet and began reading. Then he looked up at her, concern in his eyes. "Henry, what is it?" Emma asked, walking closer toward him. He showed her the file, which clearly indicated that she wasn't at the hospital. The word escaped had been crossed out, and 'released' was written above it in pencil. She closed the file and put it back in the cabinet. "Henry, we should go," she said. Her mind was already starting to buzz with two missing persons cases, and she wasn't even sure how or where to start.

The most obvious course of action, she thought as she walked Henry out of the back door of the hispital, was to bring Mr. Gold in on the two cases and see what he knew. That or canvas the entire town in hopes that someone, somewhere would have answers. But something told her that Regina knew that was the solution she would come up with, so she needed a different plan.

Wait for a solution to drop out of the sky, she thought dryly. But then again, if this was a world of magic, that was probably what was going to happen.

OUAT

Bae and Morraine walked in awkward silence, keeping their distance from the edge of the forest, when they both turned at the sound of footsteps running toward them. Fallon stopped, supported himself on his knees, and for a long moment could do nothing but catch his breath. Finally, he looked up at them. "The Ring," he panted. "A way...freedom...by the river."

Bae and Morraine looked at each other. "Freedom," he whispered. "No one else has to die, M."

"The prince will follow us. He always does. The First Killing is only the beginning. You've lived the longest out of all of those boys, and he only spares the girls because he might get something out of us."

"M, don't speak like this. You can hope again, for the first time in three years, or however long you've lived."

"Three years, eight months, and twenty-two days, and it's dangerous to hope, especially when you could die before you reach your goal."

Bae nodded. If he wanted to be honest with himself, he hadn't felt hope since his father agreed to follow him into the vortex, which never happened. Some part of him thought that the old man was better for it, considering where he ended up: a cursed bubble cut off from the rest of the Enchanted Forest, a place where the time of the Forest held little meaning and was governed by the whims of a prince who derived a sick pleasure from killing kids and watching them hunt and kill just to stay alive.

But hope was a powerful thing, perhaps second only to true love's kiss. "M," he whispered, "don't you want the dying to stop?"

"Yes, of course I do, but-"

"Ah, no buts. We'll go back to camp, and then we lead them all to the exit. We can get out of here, and no one else has to die. We can all go home, all of us."

Something flashed in Morraine's eyes that Bae hadn't seen in a long time, possibly ever, if his memory was serving him completely. She nodded curtly, gestured for Fallon to follow them, and the trio walked back to camp.


	7. Escape From Sherwood

Escape From Sherwood

By dusk the next day, the kids had packed up their camp and set off around the forest, Fallon in the lead and Bae and Morraine taking up the rear. "Where are we going?" she whispered.

"I don't know," he replied, "but we have to be brave enough to go there."

She glanced at him, but she didn't press the subject and instead searched her mind for a different one. "What happens next?" she asked. It wasn't exactly a change in subject, but she hoped it worked.

"After we leave? We try to find our families, I think. If we can."

"And if they're dead?"

"Maybe a village will take us in thinking we've been kidnapped by fair folk."

"And if we find a land without magic?"

"Then I don't know about you, but I've just come the long way and I hope he's not dead." Morraine nodded. "If the prince comes, he's vastly outnumbered."

"Unless he brings about twenty guards, and even then, we know the forest better."

"I haven't seen a First Killing before," Bae said.

"This one promises to be spectacular, if you don't die."

"And I always thought he killed between the Killings."

"He does. Killings are just the regular purgings that we can predict and try to stay away from."

"And yet we still lose lives to them."

"Because the prince and his men find us," Morraine said, fixing her eyes on the path. "They always find us."

"Do they know we found a way?"

"I hope not."

Bae stared down at the forest floor and then looked up at the kids in front of them. It was close to midnight, so they'd been walking for six hours, at least. Fallon had done a good job separating the kids from the clearing and thus the fastest route anywhere, but he could hear the river. It was closer than Bae had originally suspected.

They were close to their freedom.

Morraine stopped him. And he heard something in the distance, coming from the city. "They know," she whispered.

"Stay calm, M," he replied. "We have to keep going."

"They'll kill us."

"I know, but we have a chance to escape. Keep calm and we'll get there together."

Morraine nodded, and they continued to follow the kids. Bae scanned the forest, and Morraine nocked an arrow in her bow, waiting for the prince and his guards. Ahead, Bae could see the line of kids turning a corner, following the river. Fallon's curly red hair was immediately distinguishable in spite of the cap he wore.

Once they turned, Morraine walked backward and kept as close to Bae as possible without tripping over him. Bae heard the distinctive twang of the string of a bow releasing its projectile, and he spun and clotheslined Morraine so that he lay over her. The arrow struck a boy in front of them in the shoulder, and several others rushed to his aid. The others began shooting randomly into the forest before Fallon stopped them.

Bae helped Morraine to her feet and put an arrow to the string of the bow. A guard on horseback rushed toward them, and Bae fired. The man fell off his horse, and an arrow from another kid wounded the horse and made it run off. He glanced back at the kid who fired the shot, but his attention was attracted by the arrival of a few more guards.

Several more kids fired on the guards and their horses. Bae and Morraine nodded to each other and moved around the guards, scanning the group for a garish yellow outfit, or a brown beard, or long brown hair. Any distinguishing feature of the prince that they knew of. Bae spotted the brown head first, and he stopped his companion and prepared to fire. Please, let this work, he begged to whoever was listening.

Baelfire drew the bow and fired at the prince's head.

OUAT

"Miss Swan," Gold said when she walked into his shop. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Where's Belle?" Emma replied.

"What makes you think I know where she is?"

"Her file says that she escaped, and the word was crossed out and replaced with released. And something tells me you have something to do with this. Don't lie to me. I can tell."

"I know you can, Miss Swan, but right now I can't afford to have you know everything. I need to keep some secrets, for certain purposes."

Emma narrowed her eyes, but she nodded. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Good."

She stepped forward. "I'm not sure why, but I have reason to believe Regina's after your happy ending. Maybe it's because she hates you, maybe it's because she wants someone to save her curse, since you're the one that brought magic here. But I won't worry about that right now. I've got a bigger question, pertaining to your son." She leaned against the countertop. "Why did you ask me to do this?"

Gold leaned toward her. "I thought nothing went wrong."

"But something did."

Gold leaned on his cane and gestured toward the door. Emma set her mouth, but she turned to leave without another word.

OUAT

As soon as Bae fired, something possessed the crowd to run, run as far and as fast as they possibly could. Again, Fallon assumed the lead, but Bae knew, and he knew Morraine knew as soon as he saw the look in her eyes, that they couldn't outrun what was coming.

A burst of power centered on the body of the injured prince spread throughout Sherwood. The guards who still stood fired into the crowd of kids. A scream up ahead attested to a fallen boy, sending fear bolting through the hearts of the others. "Keep going," Bae yelled. He and Morraine turned and fired at the guards until they each had two arrows left.

Then they turned and ran toward the Ring, but the power beat them to it. Light engulfed Sherwood, and the last thing Bae remembered was reaching for Morraine's hand.


	8. First Twenty Four Hours

First Twenty-Four Hours

Morraine awoke first, to a pounding headache and an equally pounding rain. She looked around at the forest she now found herself in, but only Bae lay next to her. She could see no other Merry Men in the forest. She shook Bae awake, and he mumbled, "What?"

"We have to get out of the rain," she replied. "It's a cold one. It could bring death."

He moaned again, but he rolled over onto his front and got to his feet with Morraine's help. They walked down the hill to a river, and she led him across a bridge that was unlike anything any of them had ever seen before. He stopped and turned in a circle slowly, studying every inch of the structure. "Where are we?" he asked.

"I don't know, but if this bridge is any indication, we're close to shelter."

Bae crossed the bridge with Morraine, and they continued down a dirt road. Morraine looked up at the sign of the first building they came to. When the sign told her nothing, they walked inside, and she asked the woman at the counter, "Excuse me, is this a place where we can seek shelter from the rain?"

"Yes, it is," the woman said. "Are you two lost?"

"Yes, we are. We just need shelter until the rain stops, and some clue as to where we are."

"Well, you're in Storybrooke."

"Where is Storybrooke?"

"Maine."

"Where is Maine?"

"Oh, dear, you really are lost," a voice said from the corner of the lobby. A middle-aged man with shoulder-length black hair and dressed in a fine suit looked up from his paper, folded it, and tossed the paper onto the table in front of him. He stood with the help of a cane, and the more Bae tried not to look at him, the more Bae felt everything he deemed unnecessary over the past six months, and the more he tried to push it all back down. He turned away and walked out of the building.

Morraine turned to follow him, but the man said, "What's the matter, dearie? Your friend doesn't want to say hello?"

She recognized the phrase, and she suddenly understood why Bae left. But she faced him and squared her shoulders. "No, he doesn't, but it's no right of yours to control what people say to you and when, Dark One." The woman behind the desk stepped back, her eyes flicking from the girl to Mr. Gold and back again. The girl stepped forward. "Listen to me. If you force his hand, you will only continue to damage him. You hurt him. Anyone with eyes who's observant enough can see that whenever someone mentions you to him. Let him come to you, when he feels he's ready. Whatever you do, you will not force him."

"And what are you going to do about it, dearie?"

"Name someone who can shoot an arrow better than I can."

"How good of a shot are you?"

"Nine times out of ten, one hundred paces."

Rumpelstiltskin's impish smile fell, and he stepped back. She turned and walked out of the building.

Bae stood on the curb, his fists clenched and his head bowed. She lay a hand on his shoulder. "I gave him a piece of my mind, if that makes you feel any better," she said.

"I'm not going back in there unless he leaves," he said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe there's a back way."

He looked at her and relaxed, and they walked around the building to another door, where they slipped inside and again attracted the attention of the woman. This time she was with a girl that wasn't much older than Morraine, maybe a few more years at most. "We just need a place to stay," he said. "Can you help us?"

OUAT

Bae locked the room's windows and drew the curtains. Morraine sat on the bed, studying the strange patterns on the bedspread. After he spent several moments staring at her, she looked up at him and asked, "What do you feel in this world?"

"Magic, but it doesn't look like the Enchanted Forest," he replied. "Something went wrong. I can't be sure what, but if I were to put my money on it, if I had anything, I'd say that man downstairs is behind it." Bae turned away and leaned against the windowsill. He sighed and closed his eyes. He needed to focus. He needed a way to get to the Enchanted Forest. But how? Or was he already there? Was this place cursed, trapped for all eternity for unknown reasons? "I guess we wait out the storm and try to find the others," he said, turning back toward her.

"Let's hope they were smart enough to find shelter, or didn't die," Morraine replied, laying down next to Bae. "And whatever happens, I wish you the strength to live through it, with or without us."

"Thank you."

OUAT

Henry and Emma met in their usual booth, and Emma said in a low voice, "I'll leave finding Belle to you, because I have the case of Gold's son. We know that she's not at the mental ward, so check at Regina's if you can, or casually ask around. See what you can find and let me know."

He nodded. "Got it," he said with a smile. "I hope you find that kid."

"So do I."

"You lookin' for somebody?" Ruby asked.

"Y-yeah," Emma replied. "You got something?"

"A couple of kids showed up last night dressed like Robin Hood. They said they needed a place to stay until the rain stopped, but they didn't give their names or anything like that." Ruby leaned closer. "Not like we'd do anything like that with Rumpelstiltskin in the lobby."

"Are those kids still there?"

"I think so."

Emma turned back toward Henry. "We've got our missions, kid. Let's go." Henry nodded and saluted, and they got out of the booth. Emma followed Ruby while Henry ran out of the diner.

Ruby led Emma down several streets to the inn, and she let her in through the back way. "This way," she whispered, leading Emma up the stairs and to a door at the end of the hall that looked like it hadn't seen use in quite some time, except for small features. Ruby knocked on the door. "Housekeeping," she said.

Something rustled behind the door, and a blonde girl who wore a messy white shirt under a brown vest, brown pants, and brown boots opened the door warily, a bow in her hand and a green cap with a feather in it on her head. Sort of. Her head was bowed, and she looked out from under her eyebrows. "This is Emma," Ruby said cheerily, gesturing to the woman next to her. "Is it okay if she talks to you?"

"And who are you?" the girl asked. She had a slight accent that Emma couldn't quite place.

"I'm the woman you saw with my grandmother last night."

The girl studied Ruby's eyes. "I see hints of wolf," she said.

"I'm working on that."

"You're not going to try to kill us?"

"I hope not."

"What are you looking for? A knife? Money? Information for the prince?"

"A person," Emma said.

"Who sent you?"

"Does the name Rumpelstiltskin mean anything to you?"

"Tell him that I personally think he can shove it. No, don't. I gave him a piece of my mind last night, and if he comes back, I'll do it again. I'm as sick of him as he is."

"Who's this other 'he' you're talking about?"

"None of your business." The girl slammed the door, making Emma take a startled step back. Ruby turned to face her and offered an apologetic smile that faded soon after. Instead of offering an explanation, she led the Sheriff back downstairs.


	9. Lost and Found

Lost and Found

As soon as Morraine closed the door, she shook an already-half-awake Bae into full alertness. "We need to go, now," she whispered urgently. "Someone's found us."

"What sort of someone?" Bae asked, propping himself up on his arms.

"I couldn't be sure. She wore strange clothes. Trousers and a jacket that looked to be of hide, colored red. Her hair was blond and curled, and she looked battle-hardened. She had a black-haired companion who seems to like to wear red and has wolf in her eyes."

"How did they seem?"

"They mean well, I'm sure, but I'm not sure if they fully understand what's going on."

Bae stood and walked over to the window. He pulled the shades back and unlocked it, and then he faced her. "M, how much time do we have before someone else finds us?"

"I don't know. This world seems to have strange customs. I can't even begin to guess what would happen because of our arrival."

"We have to go, nonetheless." He opened the window and poked his head out to judge the distance to the ground. "It should be safe enough," he said, pulling his head back into the room. He picked up his bow and quiver, dropped them both out the window, and followed feet first. He took a step back, slung his bow and quiver onto his back, and watched as Morraine imitated his every move, and they turned and walked into the forest surrounding Storybrooke.

The two picked their way through the forest, listening for any sign of a river, a fire, or both. They fell into step side-by-side where their path permitted it.

Their path through the forest led them to the bridge they had crossed the night before. She looked at him expectantly, and he shrugged, a lopsided half-smile on his face. He crossed the bridge, and she followed reluctantly. Finally, she asked, "Where are we going?"

"Where it all started," he replied. "The others would've sought shelter elsewhere in case the prince followed us." She nodded, and they walked up a path to where they awoke the previous night.

"Looks like a reasonable place to start looking for someone's camp," she said, studying the area surrounding them.

"Then let's get going." Bae and Morraine walked along the diameter of an imaginary circle, in opposite directions, and began walking along the circumference of their circle.

A few minutes of slow passage through the forest, Bae heard something rustle in the woods behind him. For some reason, he first thought it was Morraine, but she was several feet to the other side, well out of earshot for such a small sound. Slowly, he turned to face the source of the noise, and he took his bow in his hand and pulled an arrow from his quiver. He didn't want to be too prepared if it turned out to be a rabbit.

The sound came again, more distinctly and approaching him. Whatever was making the sound was bipedal and aiding itself with a walking stick.

Bae nearly dropped his bow and arrow.

The sound stopped, but by then its maker was in full view. This time Bae did drop his weapon.

Standing in front of him was the man from the inn he and Morraine found the previous night, but this time, they got a good look at each other, and there was no doubt in either of their minds as to the other's identity.

Gold stared at the face he hadn't seen in centuries, his mind racing for a way to start the conversation he'd been hoping to have for all that time. Finally, he whispered, "...Bae?" He wanted to reach for the boy, but something about the way the teenager carried himself advised him against it.

Bae stepped back. Even if he didn't recognize the man in the strange clothes standing in front of him, leaning on a cane, he certainly recognized the voice. "Bae," the man whispered again. Was he dreaming? Did he hit his head on something? Bae was certain of one thing, though: the tone of his father's voice certainly didn't warrant the anger he felt the previous night at seeing him for the first time in months.

Morraine whistled, and Bae's head snapped toward the sound. He looked back at the man again, grabbed his bow and arrow, and ran off toward her.

OUAT

"What happened back there?" she asked when he reached her. "Why did you stop moving?"

"Let's not talk about it," he replied, almost too swiftly. "What did you find?"

She narrowed her eyes, but she turned and led him deeper into the woods, where a shelter had been made. He recognized the style as that developed by the Merry Men in Sherwood. "And the tracks indicate that they headed north," she added, pointing the way.

"Are there other places like this?"

"Not that I've found."

Bae nodded, and he and Morraine followed the tracks, which seemed at some points to go around in circles but which ultimately led to a river and then several feet up the bank, to the northwest. In a circle of trees, the embers of a fire still burned.

But it got worse.

Bodies littered the camp, all seven of them looking as if they were fleeing, with varying degrees of success. All had been shot in the back, the sides, or both. Morraine followed a set of hoof tracks to the edge of the circle and then turned back toward Bae. "It's too late. We can't follow. Whoever the attacker was, he's long gone by now."

"Do you think the prince and his men may have followed us?"

She looked down at the bodies. "It looks like a Killing, alright, or as close to one as only a small group of us allows."

He looked back into the forest, for unknown reasons thinking of his father, and then he turned to Morraine. "Then we're now looking for survivors. Or enemies."

"What do we do next?"

"Depends on which we find first."

"Should we make camp and catch something?"

Bae walked over to the edge of the bank, turning to face him. "That may be a good idea, M, but we can't look like we're from Sherwood, lest we be found and killed."

"There are only two of us. That shouldn't be too difficult."

"Then let's get going."

She nodded and smiled to him, and he smiled back.

OUAT

"Okay, Gold, I got your message," Emma said. She folded her arms across her chest and studied the crippled, well-dressed man in the light of a street lamp on a corner. Rain beat down on both of them, and neither seemed to care too much.

"I see you did," Gold replied in his usual amiable manner. Then he shifted into a more serious tone. "There's been a development."

"What sort of development?"

"The sort I feel you'd want to know about, otherwise I wouldn't have contacted you."

"Get on with it. I haven't got all night."

Gold shifted his weight, closed his eyes, and tilted his head to one side. He looked up at Emma and said, "I have reason to believe my son's only recently found Storybrooke."

"He's one of the two kids at the Bed and Breakfast."

Gold raised his eyebrows. "Oh."

Emma unfolded her arms, held her hands in front of her, and watched them as she started speaking. "Ruby said a couple kids dressed like Robin Hood showed up last night." Here she looked at Gold. "She said they didn't give their names, and they apparently needed a place to stay while the storm passed. We checked on the room this morning, and a girl answered. She looked like she thought I wanted to kill her."

"That's to be expected. Stranger in a strange land."

"Strange land?"

"If those kids had spent their lives in the Enchanted Forest and then in Sherwood, they haven't seen a world like ours, where seemingly strange customs reign and magic was once lost."

"And only recently brought back," they said at the same time.

"You said he was at the Bed and Breakfast?" Gold asked, turning to leave.

Emma grabbed his sleeve and spun him around to face her. "Let me try to talk to them one more time, figure out what's what. I don't know if he's ready to see you again, or if he even wants to, but good or bad, whatever's happening there, you'll be the first to know."

Gold nodded. "Thank you, Emma." She nodded in response, and when she released him, he climbed into his car. She turned and walked down the block to her own vehicle, climbed in, and drove back to Mary Margaret's place.


	10. The Knife

The Knife

Ruby tilted her head to one side, and then Emma's request sank in. All this took about half a second, and when it was over, she said, "Well, sure," and led the Sheriff back up to the room at the end of the second floor hall. She knocked on the door, but no one answered, not even when she called, "Housekeeping."

Ruby pulled a master key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She and Emma stepped outside to find an open window and a nearly spotless room. Only the disheveled bed was any indication that anyone had been there. She closed her eyes and snifed. "They went out the window," she said, "toward the forest."

"Why would they go there?" Emma asked.

"Remember, they look like Robin Hood, so they probably think like him, too."

"What's that mean?"

"They only hid here for shelter from the rain. They probably live in the forests, so they had to get back there as soon as possible."

It crossed Emma's mind that she needed more puzzle pieces in order to make a complete picture of what was going on. Ruby walked out of the room, and Emma followed. The Sheriff had to jog to keep up with Ruby.

They slipped out of the back door and all but ran into the forest, around Storybrooke, and over the Toll Bridge. Ruby paused in an area at the top of a hill, sorting out exactly what she was smelling. "This is weird," she said. "The kids were here, but so was Gold."

Gold? Emma wondered. Then she remembered the development he'd mentioned. What was he doing out here? More 'gardening'? What sort of gardening? Was he burying a body? If so, who?

Ruby pulled Emma behind her, jerking the Sheriff out of her thoughts. Emma stumbled over herself, but once she regained her footing, she followed Ruby without the latter's assistance. But a short while later, Ruby stopped, and Emma almost slammed into her. The girl turned away from the dead campfire surrounded by seven arrow-filled bodies who wore the same clothing as the girl had earlier that day. "What happened here?" Emma asked.

"Mass shooting," Ruby replied, not daring to turn her back. "If we tried to follow the shooter, odds are he'd be long, long gone. Maybe in Canada, maybe halfway across the nation. He got away on horseback."

"We're not looking for a killer. We're looking for Gold's son." Ruby spun on her heel, eyes wide as saucers and jaw slack. "I owe him a favor." Ruby closed her mouth and nodded, but her eyes were still wide. In fact, her expression seemed to be one of dumbfounded acceptance. Emma turned back toward the campfire and asked. "Where'd they go from here?"

"Up the bank," Ruby said, her voice betraying her relief at being back in her element. She walked past Emma and the dead bodies, careful to keep her eyes on the prize, and moved along the bank into the forest. Emma jogged until she was close to Ruby, and they continued up the bank until she stopped again to sniff the air. She walked on, and finally, roughly a hundred feet from the bank and what had to be at least a couple miles from Storybrooke, Ruby said, "Here."

A small fire had been built here, and a few embers were still burning but fading fast. There were no bodies here. "Were they here?"

"Yeah. They went out, but some of their stuff's here, or stuff they might need. I think they'll come back for it."

"Do we wait?"

"We could leave a note."

"What do we say?"

"Say that someone in town's looking for them."

"Wait. What if they can't read?"

"Hm, good point." Ruby paced slowly to the embers and scuffed the dirt with her heel.

"You said it yourself. The kids will come back. Until then, let's figure out what Gold was doing in the woods in the first place." Ruby nodded, tilted her head up, closed her eyes, and waited. Then, she turned away from the river and all but ran off into the forest. "Do you have to move so fast?" Emma asked. Ruby ignored her and wove through the trees almost as if they weren't there. Emma, in contrast, nearly stumbled over herself in an effort to keep up with her guide.

They reached the hill again, and then they followed a small, overgrown path Emma could've sworn she hadn't noticed before. Here, she found herself tripping over herself and undergrowth even more, while Ruby seemed as effortless as always.

Ruby stopped at the crest of another hill, and several seconds later, Emma stumbled up behind her, picking twigs, pine needles, and burrs out of her pant legs. She noticed the fresh patch of dirt and abandoned the sad state of her pants almost immediately; she made for the patch and began digging. She didn't get a foot before finding a long object wrapped in cloth. Ruby walked over to her and looked over her shoulder as she unwrapped the cloth and tested the weight of a long knife with a curved blade. On one side was a series of runes, and on the other was a name.

Rumpelstiltskin.

"Recognize this?" Emma asked.

"The Dark One's knife," Ruby replied. "Figures it came with him. Nearly everything did. It's all in that goddamned pawn shop of his."

"He's operating a perfectly legal pawn shop, and that's not the issue. The issue is what the hell this knife is doing buried in the woods."

"You're not seriously going to ask him, are you?"

Emma stood, inches from Ruby's nose. "Hell yeah I am."

OUAT

"Gold, I know you're closing, but I need to ask you a few questions," Emma said, rushing the counter. Gold turned to face her. If he wasn't surprised, he was doing a pretty good job of faking it.

"Sheriff Swan, how may I help you?" he asked.

"We need to talk, but not here."

"Back at the station?"

"Anywhere we can get some privacy."

Gold nodded and said, "In that case, Miss Swan, please. Come into my office." He gestured to the beaded curtain in the doorway behind him and led her inside it. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Emma slipped a hand into her jacket, switched on a tape recorder, and produced a long bundle. She unwrapped the cloth and held the knife in between them. "This has your name on it."

"Yes, it does."

"Why?"

"Well, you certainly like to get right to the point. Have you read Henry's book?"

"Haven't had the time." He wasn't saying anything that would give her any idea as to whether or not he was lying about anything. "And besides, the book might miss a few things, and I want the truth, from you."

"What are you willing to give me for it?"

Goddammit, Emma thought. "Information about your son."

"Where is he?"

"Ah. You first, or no deal."

Gold sighed and bowed his head. When he looked up at Emma, she saw something in his eyes that she could only describe as endlessness. "A long time ago, I was a desperate soul," he said in a slightly raspy voice. "My son was my only family. His mother had left me because I was a coward who refused to fight a pointless war. The duke's men came one day to take my son to join the army, and I was desperate enough, just enough, to try to control the Dark One, a man named Zoso. He talked me into killing him, and I kept the knife." Gold gestured to the object in Emma's hand. "I've had those powers ever since." Emma nodded. Gold stepped closer to her. "Now, where. Is. My. Son?"

"Still in the woods around Storybrooke, trying to stay alive in what looks like the only world he knows. Talk to Ruby. She can lead you to him better than I can."

Gold stepped back. "Thank you," he said in what was clearly a fake effort to be civil. He gestured to the door and said, "You may leave now." Emma nodded to him and walked out through the curtain.

The second he was alone, Gold regretted having said so much, but they'd made a deal, if only by implication. All of his deals had been honored, except one, and he wasn't about to repeat that mistake. Ever. Again.


	11. In the Woods

In the Woods

Jefferson and a woman Emma didn't recognize walked into the shop just as Emma was about to leave. "Is Mr. Gold in today?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, he's in the back office," Emma replied, pointing behind her.

"Thank you."

"Emma." She held her hand out to the woman.

"Belle," the woman replied, shaking the hand offered her. Emma nodded and walked past them.

Jefferson and Belle walked up to the door frame, and Belle knocked on it. "It's me," she said.

"Come in," Gold replied from within. They walked inside. She hugged the pawn shop owner the second she got the chance, and he returned the gesture. When she pulled away, Gold nodded to Jefferson, who nodded in kind. "Please, have a seat." Jefferson and Belle sat in the two chairs facing Gold's desk. Gold sat down, folded his hands, and leaned forward. "Jefferson, I assume you know why I contacted you."

"To check up on your girlfriend," Jefferson replied.

"And there's something else. Some_one_ else, I should say."

"Is this the son that you mentioned?" Belle asked.

"Yes, it is. I believe I know how and where to find him, but once I do, I will trust him to your care."

"What does he look like?" Jefferson asked.

"I've been told somewhat like me."

He nodded. "Makes sense. How old is he?"

"Sixteen."

"So, when he's found, you want us to look after him?" Belle asked.

"Shelter him, look after him, make sure Regina doesn't suspect a thing. I'm sure you've been doing that well enough?"

"She doesn't know anything. And we're still sticking to the plan, right?"

Gold nodded and leaned back, crossing his legs. "Does he keep you comfortable enough?" he asked Belle.

"It beats the mental institution," she replied.

He smiled and nodded again, and then he looked at Jefferson. As they got up to leave, he stood with the help of his cane and walked around the desk. Gold pulled him closer via his collar and said, "I'm trusting you with my two greatest treasures, which means that if you fail me, I'll do a lot more than cut off your head." Jefferson nodded, and with a flick of his wrist, Gold sent him back into the chair, toppling it.

Belle looked from Jefferson to Gold and back again. She helped Jefferson to his feet. "We should go," she said. "She might've noticed where we've been."

"Right. I'll see you soon." Gold and Belle hugged again, and Jefferson led her out of the office.

He checked the windows for anyone who could be or be working for Regina. Once he determined that the coast was clear, he nodded to her, and they walked out of the shop, down the block, and into an alley. She climbed into the passenger seat of Jefferson's car, and he got behind the wheel and started the car. He drove down the street to a house on the outskirts of Storybrooke, where he parked around back and led her into the house through the back door. She went to the guest bedroom she occupied, and he took the gun out of his room and took a seat at the end of the second floor hallway, next to the stairs facing the door.

OUAT

Bae and Morraine returned to camp with two small rabbits. Morraine dropped the one she carried when she noticed something near the fire pit. "What is it?" Bae asked, setting his rabbit down next to hers.

"Here," she said, pointing to the tracks. "Two women. They seem to have come from the forest, in the direction of the town, and then gone off back into the woods."

"Who do you think they are?"

"Not sure."

"Where in the forest did they go?"

"Let's find out." She followed the tracks into the woods, and Bae followed her. The tracks wove through the forest to one hill and then another. On the second hill, several small mounds of dirt lay next to a hole the likes of which would be used to bury a box or other small object. Bae walked up and studied the hole. It was longer than it was wide, and it reminded him of the dimensions of a knife. A very specific knife.

Morraine knelt next to him. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Are you thinking of a knife?" Bae asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am."

She nodded, and they stood and faced each other. Bae looked down at the tracks. They seemed to lead back to the town, so they followed them until they stopped at the bridge. "They would've gone into the town, but we can't track them there."

"Bae, we still have to find the survivors."

"That knife is dangerous, Morraine. If anyone kills my father with it, they become the Dark One, and we all know how dangerous the Dark One is."

"That's the reason you stopped earlier. That was your father." Bae nodded. "Let's get those rabbits and move our camp."

"Good plan."

OUAT

Emma opened Henry's book and flipped through it until she found a picture of the knife, with Rumpelstiltskin's name replaced by Zoso's. She removed the knife, in its plastic bag, from the box on her desk and lay it on the book opposite the illustration. With the exception of the name, the knives were identical.

But what crime was this knife evidence for? Was it evidence for anything in the first place? Was it only buried to protect it or hide it for future use? Before she took any course of action, she had to figure out whether anything had happened in the first place.

She put the knife back in the box, closed the book, and slipped it back in her drawer. Too many questions, so few answers.

OUAT

Gold walked into Granny's Diner and asked to see Ruby. "Yeah? Can I help you?" Ruby asked when she walked out of the kitchen.

"Yes, I believe you can. Emma Swan recommended you," Gold replied.

"For what?"

"I've got a special job for you."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "What job are we talking about?"

"I need you to help me find someone."

"Oookay."

"It shouldn't be too difficult."

"Well, who're we looking for?"

"Someone. Apparently he likes to hide out in the woods, or he feels the need to, at least."

"Explains why you're asking me." She glanced down at the counter and said, "Well, I'll see what I find, and you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you."

OUAT

Morraine and Bae had just finished preparing their rabbits when they heard a rustling sound to their left. Bae stuffed the rabbits in his pack, and they both armed their bows and waited.

A woman in a red shirt stepped out into view, but the rustling continued. "Get behind us," Bae whispered harshly. The woman turned to the woods and then all but ran to a point closer to the fire. The rustling came again, and Bae and Morraine took aim.

A brown-haired man in yellow stepped out of the forest, and the kids fired, their arrows landing in each of his wrists. He winced, but he managed to pull them out and lunge for them. Bae had managed to ready another arrow by the time the prince smacked Morraine out of the way, and he stepped back to give himself the necessary shooting space. But the prince reached him and grabbed his wrist before he could fire. Bae tossed the bow and arrow into a bush and turned toward the woman. "Run," he mouthed as the man jerked his arm into an awkward and extremely painful position.

Bae looked at Morraine, who got to her feet and readied another arrow. He nodded to her and twisted to the side. She fired just as he turned.

The prince screamed in agony and released his grip just enough for Bae to pull free. "Nice work," he breathed to Morraine as he picked up his weapon and helped her to her feet. Her arrow had landed in the prince's shoulder, and Bae noticed that his eye was milky. That must've been how he was so seriously injured that the curse broke.

The prince tore the arrow from his shoulder and said, "You think you can kill me."

"Maybe I can," the woman said, scratching at him. Her nails (or were they claws?) tore at the skin of his face, in some spots exposing his jaw bone. He stumbled back, and the woman snarled very much like a wolf.

Bae and Morraine watched with mixtures of shock, awe, and some degree of terror as the prince straightened and purple mist surrounded his wounds. The arrow disintegrated into a blend of the mist and a black, powdery substance. The woman stepped back and shot a look toward the kids. "What's going on?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Bae stepped between Morraine and the prince and began guiding her toward the woman. Both kids armed their bows, but the price didn't move until the smoke cleared. When he did, he shot toward the woman before the kids could get to her.

The woman threw her hands up to stop his arms and shot for his throat. Morraine grabbed Bae's arm and shot him an anxious look. When Bae looked back at the woman, he saw what had his companion so worried. The woman had, in a matter of moments, transformed into the wolf she'd behaved like such a short time prior. "Bae, we should go," Morraine whispered.

"No, we can't leave her," Bae replied.

"It's not like we can kill him."

"Who says we need to kill him?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He made a deal. Power and immortality. I can't be sure the price, which likely means he hasn't paid it."

The kids faced each other. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, M, but I'm afraid so. The only trouble is that we are three, counting the wolf. One of us will be alone."

"You should go." Morraine lowered her voice and added, "No matter the outcome, it may be our best bet."

Bae nodded reluctantly. "But I hate to leave you in such a dangerous position."

She put her hands on his shoulders. "I'll be fine."

With a reluctant nod, he said, "I'll hurry," and with his bow and arrow in hand, he ran across the bridge to the town.


	12. Conversations

Conversations

Jefferson was about to pull into the track that led to his back door when he spotted someone running from the direction of the forest. He parked and got out, and the runner, who had to be about sixteen, stopped in front of him. "Do you know...where I can find...Rumpelstiltskin?" the runner asked.

"Rumpelstiltskin?" Jefferson asked. The runner nodded. The Hatter glanced up at the mansion adn then said, "I'll be right back." He ran in through the back door, up the stairs to Belle's guest bedroom, and knocked.

"Yes?" Belle asked.

"You think you're gonna be alright here by yourself?"

"Yes."

"And remember. If she shows up-"

"Lock myself up and don't answer to anyone."

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I have an errand to run real fast."

"Alright."

Jefferson rushed back out to his car, where the boy had waited patiently. "Get in and we can go."

"In? In where?" the boy asked. Jefferson gestured to the passenger door of his car. The boy walked around the front of the car and stared at the door, the handle in particular. After a moment, he pulled up on the handle and climbed into the car. Jefferson walked back around, got behind the wheel, and backed out.

Once they were moving forward, Jefferson asked, "Ever see a car before?"

"A car," the boy said, trying the word out in his mouth. "Is that what this thing is?"

"Yeah."

"Do the residents here use them a lot?"

"You could say that."

"Do they have lights that come on at night?"

"Yeah."

"I think I have."

Jefferson nodded. "So, what do you need to see Rumpelstiltskin about?"

"Let's just say I found someone who needs to pay him."

"So you know about his deals."

"Yes."

The car turned a corner and parked. Mr. Gold had turned the sign on the door to 'closed' and did a double take as Jefferson climbed out of the car. The Hatter helped the boy out, and now Gold was transfixed. The pair walked into the pawn shop, and the boy took a deep breath. "There's...there's someone at the bridge who made a deal with you and hasn't yet paid," the boy managed. Gold nodded and followed them out to Jefferson's car. The boy found his way into the passenger seat, and Gold climbed into the seat behind him.

Jefferson drove down a side street to the Toll Bridge. The boy figured there was only one bridge for this entire town. The Hatter parked, and all three climbed out. The boy ran across the bridge with Jefferson and Gold behind him. The camp just past the bridge was deserted save a blond girl crouching over a bleeding Ruby and treating her wounds. Jefferson and Gold watched for the slightest instant as the boy helped the girl, and then Jefferson said, "I'll go get help." He ran back to his car, and Gold was at the boy's side before the car pulled away. But as he watched the kids' swift, sure work, he stepped back.

Ruby met Gold's gaze and asked, "Did I find who you were looking for?" Gold looked at the boy and nodded.

OUAT

When a blond woman, the black-haired man, and Rumpelstiltskin had taken the injured werewolf away toward Storybrooke, Bae and Morraine took the opportunity to disappear into the forest, leaving their camp behind.

"Why don't you let your father shelter you if you're obviously in danger?" Morraine asked as they walked.

"Because we're safer together and we still have work to do," Bae replied.

She looked at the forest floor to hide her shy smile, in spite of the fact that he wasn't even looking at her, and then the smile faded and she asked, "What did you say to him?"

"I told him I found someone who needed to keep up his end of a deal. No more, no less."

"Of all the things you could've said to convey the situation we were in, you chose a matter of business."

"It's the safest and least personal."

"Are you trying to avoid something? A confrontation, perhaps?"

Bae bit his lip. "I needed something efficient, so I guess you could say I was avoiding something. I was avoiding something long and drawn out. I did say I would hurry, after all."

"So it was about you keeping your word."

"More than anything."

Morraine had the sense that Bae was touching on a subject he wouldn't dare explicitly mention unless he was absolutely sure the circumstances were ideal. She decided to start carefully. "When they told me about you, they told me you'd fallen out of a green portal near a tree."

"That's true."

"They also said you were crying and wouldn't speak to anyone."

"That's also true."

"Do you want to tell me about what happened?"

He stopped and faced her. "When they first brought me to you and you asked about how I ended up in Sherwood, I simply said that he let me go. There's nothing more to tell, M." He continued up their imaginary path, and after a moment, she jogged until she caught up with him and fell into step behind him. Her first thought was that she'd been too direct, but then, she'd been much more so when she tried to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin for a way to follow Bae and had been told that no such thing existed. "Not yet, at least," he'd said with his soon-to-be-famous impish smile.

"M?" Bae asked.

"Hm?" she replied.

"What are you thinking?"

"About how I found myself in Sherwood."

"You said you tried to run from a dark man, and you were emphatic that it wasn't Rumpelstiltskin."

"Because he said that there was no way to follow you."

He wanted to say something about how long she'd been in the forest, but he remembered the prince's warped sense of time-and humor. And it was high time for a change in subject, he decided. "Speaking of following, where do you think the prince would be with relation to us?"

"Either looking for the others or staying just out of your sensing range."

And far out of earshot, Bae thought with a smile. "Well, if we don't know where the others are, then he shouldn't, either."

"Unless he wants us to lead him to them."

"Does he honestly have that kind of patience?"

The two shared a laugh over this and then lapsed into comfortable silence.

OUAT

"So what happened to the kids?" Emma asked. She, Gold, Jefferson, and Henry stood in a circular-ish shape around Ruby's hospital bed.

"They disappeared again," Ruby replied. "Not like they're gonna stay at the scene of a vicious fight. They're not that stupid."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Where would they go, then?" Gold asked.

"Deeper into the forest, away from civilization and any chance of being found by...by...whatever that thing that used to be human is."

"As far as we're concerned, a fiend."

"What'd you do? Cut a deal with him."

"Yes, but I knew he'd try to go back, so I slipped a little something in there."

"Explains why you're not too worried about...whatever it is."

"This matter will resolve itself. As far as I'm concerned, the bigger problem is Regina."

"She was excited about the magic coming back, so maybe she wants to keep us trapped somehow," Henry said. All eyes were on him. "Just a thought. I'm not sure how good it is."

"I think it might be very good, Henry," Gold replied. "You're a smart young man."

"Thanks."

"Wait," Emma said. "Just to be clear, for right now this moment, you're on our side, right?"

"For now," Gold replied. Emma nodded and looked down at Ruby.

"Look on the bright side," Ruby said with a smile. "I'll be out in a day or two. Whatever those kids did to me really worked."

Emma smiled, and a nurse announced that their time was up. They began to file out of the room, and once in the hall, Jefferson said, "Gold."

"Yes?" Gold replied.

"That kid that I took to the pawn shop. That's the kid you're looking for, right?"

"Yes."

Jefferson nodded and turned to leave, half-turning a few paces away from Gold and giving him a sort-of salute. Gold reciprocated the gesture, and Jefferson walked out of the hospital.

OUAT

Jefferson walked up to Belle's upstairs bedroom to find it locked. He knocked in a specific manner, one he taught her to recognize, and he heard the locks click. The door opened just long enough for her to pull him through, and then she locked it again. She turned to face him and whispered, "She came."

"You did good, Belle," Jefferson replied. "Rumpelstiltskin would be proud."

The mention of his name made her relax a little. "How is he?"

"Fine, I think. He's kind of a hard man to read."

"What happens to the plan if she gets one of us first?"

"Gold set that all up. Even I don't know how it all works. All I know is that it's my job to protect you and his son, if he ever shows up."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we found the kid, but he seems to really like hiding in the woods."

"Can you blame him?"

"No." Jefferson glanced at the nightstand and the neatly made bed. "How long was she here?"

"A few minutes. She arrived just after you left, and ever since she left, I've been trying to ease my nerves." The bed stood testament to the fact.

"Feel better now?"

"Yes, I do."

"Okay. You know where to find me if you need anything, and if I'm not here for some reason, Mr. Gold's card should still be in your drawer. Is it?"

"It is."

"Okay. I'll be in the hall."

Jefferson walked to the door, and Belle let him out. "Thank you, Jefferson," she said as he passed. He nodded to her over his shoulder.


	13. Return to Storybrooke

Return to Storybrooke

Mr. Gold stood in Emma's office, which she discovered as she walked in to start the day. "How the hell did you get in here?" she asked.

"Eagerness and a key," he replied.

"Well, as long as you're here, I guess I can ask you some questions."

"Please, let's keep this off the record."

"Well, that won't be a problem, since there's no evidence of a crime having taken place, except the attack on Ruby, but both the victim and another witness clearly state that you weren't the attacker."

"Then this is about the knife."

"My primary question is what it's doing in the woods in the first place."

"It's there because I buried it there, dearie. It's that simple."

"But why did you do it?"

"To keep it as far away from Regina as possible, of course. And I'm saving it for a...special occasion."

Emma draped her jacket on her chair and leaned against it slightly. "And what happens if you don't find your son in the woods? What if he disappears completely?"

"No one can disappear completely, dearie."

"Apparently this kid has a desire to."

Gold blinked and creased his brow. "Where are you going with this?"

"Ever stop to think that maybe he's trying to avoid you?" Gold paused and shifted his weight. "Just let him figure himself out and come back if he wants to. That can't be so hard, if you love him as much as you act like you do."

"It's not an act, Miss Swan."

"Then step back and wait a little bit, okay?"

"Alright."

"That's that subject put to bed, then."

"Which leaves me with one question. Where is the knife, exactly?"

"In the...evidence room."

"Why don't we go check, dearie?"

Emma knit her brow, but she and Gold walked down the hall to the evidence room, anyway. She opened the box with the most recent date tag...to find only the bag with the cloth that contained the knife inside. With a sinking feeling in her gut, she ran past Gold, out of the room, down a flight of stairs, and into the security office.

She barked out an order to the security staff, and they pulled up all footage for the past twenty-four hours. She studied the footage for the hall leading to the evidence room, and then she said, "Stop, right there." The man at the console stopped the replay. A woman with short black hair stood in the center of the hall, something in her hands. "Move forward, slowly." The man clicked through several more stills until the woman stopped in front of the camera, the knife clearly brandished, the side with Rumpelstiltskin's name on it facing the camera. The woman was smiling like she'd had a secret, or an evil scheme.

Regina.

"Run that off and get it to my office as soon as possible."

"Are you sure?" the man at the control panel asked.

"Positive."

"Alright, if you insist."

OUAT

Gold stepped away from the door, pulled a phone out of his pocket, and dialled a number. "Hello?" Jefferson asked.

"Something's come up," Gold replied. "Is Belle safe?"

"Yeah. Regina showed up earlier, but Belle did everything she was supposed to and she's still here."

"Good. I'll be there shortly to assess the situation, and we'll move from there."

"Take it the plan's changed."

"Only slightly."

"That kid disappeared into the forest. I don't know if we're ever gonna see him again."

"I know. Stay there and keep her safe. I'll be over as soon as possible."

"What was that about?" Emma asked from the doorway. Gold turned slowly, the phone still in his hand. He snapped it shut and slipped it back into his pocket.

"Miss Swan," he said.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Oh, no, I just finished."

"Okay."

"If you'll excuse me, I have something to take care of."

Emma nodded, and Gold turned and walked up the stairs and disappeared. She waited for a moment before walking back up to her office.

OUAT

After a few hours of picking their way through the forest and only a brief stop to finally eat those rabbits, Bae and Morraine reached a path covered in asphalt that looked like something from Storybrooke. "Where does this lead?" Morraine asked.

Bae looked in both directions. "I think one end goes to the town, but I'm not sure where the other goes. Maybe to another town somewhere, or a city."

"Maybe." Morraine began to cross the path, and a car appeared out of nowhere, headed straight for them at a speed Bae judged was much too fast. He dove twoard her and tackled her as the car weaved around them and began to slide and do other things Bae figured must've been dangerous before it finally crashed in a ditch. A black-haired woman appeared out of the car and walked up to them, yelling and flailing one arm in a way Bae hoped meant something.

He stood and helped Morraine to her feet. The woman continued to approach and yell, and while the two kids understood the words, any meaning was lost on them.

Finally, the woman stopped to breathe, and Bae asked, "Did we crash it?" The woman stared at him blankly and then glanced over her shoulder at her car. Morraine moved closer to the forest, and Bae moved with her. The woman stared at them a few moments more before returning to her car.

The kids exchanged looks and nodded to each other. She ran back across the path and slipped into the underbrush. He watched the woman rummage around inside the car, wondering exactly what she was looking for.

When the woman approached, he noticed the strange feeling in the air around her. Her hands were empty, and something about that seemed wrong to Bae. The closer she got, the more he felt the magic around her. She crouched until her lips were close to his face. "Whoever you are, you didn't see anything," she hissed. "You were never here."

"You expect that you have some power over me," Bae said. "I can feel that you do. You expect to have power. You're used to power. You have your magic, after all. Why shouldn't you expect that to equate to power over others?" She raised a hand to slap him in the face, and he added, "Your mother made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, didn't she?"

She lowered her hand. "How did you know?" she asked in a low, rasping voice.

"I know a thing or two about how he works. Her price was her firstborn, but not in the traditional sense. He was invested in your future, as it were."

This time the woman did slap him, but he merely blinked a couple times and stared at her, breaking his gaze to shoot a glance to Morraine in the bushes. The girl ran toward the car and slipped inside soundlessly. Bae watched the woman straighten and take a deep breath, but in her eyes was a fire not unlike that he'd seen in his father's eyes when someone did him harm.

She turned and walked back to the car, and Morraine shot out of the passenger door without closing it behind her. The woman stopped. "What is going on here?" she asked, turning toward Bae one more time. Bae took a step back and stole a glance to the other side of the path. Morraine was already on the run, so he took off, too.

The woman yelled after them, but she didn't follow. Maybe it was because of the funny and painful-looking shoes she wore.

Morraine pulled Bae behind an old tree, and there they stopped to catch their breath as silently as possible. "She has the knife," she said. "I couldn't get it in time."

"It's alright," he replied. "At least we know where it is."

"Bae, is she evil? Can you tell?"

"She has power, magic power and power over others. As far as evil goes, I can't be entirely sure, but she's used to maintaining her power, and she seems to not know that my father has the power of a deal over her. She was the miller's daughter's first born."

"As in the tale of the miller's daughter, whose father boasted that she could spin straw into gold?"

"Yes, but knowing the Enchanted Forest, that most likely happened."

"That woman is the miller's granddaughter? The first born offered to the Dark One in exchange for magic."

"And who passed this magic on to the first born. And of course Rumpelstiltskin was invested in her future, or so it was implied to me."

Morraine nodded. "You don't feel like she's a good woman to have the knife, do you?"

"No."

"Then how do we get it back?"

Bae looked over his shoulder toward the path. "We have to go into that town. I think I know someone who can help us, if we can find him again."

"That black-haired youth who brought you back to the camp?"

"The same."

"Then let's go."

OUAT

Bae and Morraine walked into Storybrooke, and Bae looked for that house where he'd found the black-haired man. When he found it, he walked around to the door with Morraine on his heels. He knocked on the door and waited. The man opened the door and said, "Hey, kid."

"Hello. Could you help us?" Bae asked.

"Us?" Morraine stepped into the man's view, and he repeated, "Us." He stepped aside and gestured to the foyer. "Please, come in." Bae and Morraine stepped inside, and the man shut the door after them.

Standing in a doorway across the foyer was a woman with brunette hair, dressed in trousers and a jacket, or some variant thereof. Her hands were in her pockets, and she smiled. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" she asked.

For the first time, Bae didn't know what to say that would keep himself and his companion anonymous and their intent as obscure as possible. He didn't know whether these two were safe to talk to. He didn't know how to go about this.

Morraine asked, "Do either of you know a tall-ish woman with short black hair who likes to wear strange clothing and shoes with spikes on the heels?"

"You mean Regina?" the man asked.

"Is that her name?"

"I'm pretty sure that's the woman you're talking about."

Bae walked over to the woman and asked in hushed tones, "Do you know Rumpelstiltskin?"

"Yes...yes, I do," she replied, leading him into the living room. "How do you know him?"

Bae bit his lip and glanced down at the floor. How could he explain this? He let out a breath and finally met her gaze. "I met him a long time ago, made a deal with him. He broke it."

"He never mentioned breaking a deal."

"He brought magic to this world. Did he mention to you why?"

"No. After the incident at the well, he sent me to Jefferson and asked him to look after me. I think they developed some sort of plan to deal with Regina, but I only heard half of that conversation."

Bae narrowed his eyes slightly. He suspected that this woman might not have been telling him the whole truth, but he had no proof. The feel of a deal was on this woman like moths on a flame, and there was something else. She had something on Rumpelstiltskin. "Do you love him?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," she replied.

"Does he love you as much as he says he does?" The woman stopped. "Be careful around him. He may readily choose magic and power over you given the opportunity."

"He never mentioned that, either."

"He didn't to me, and I was foolish enough to believe what he said. Next time he says he loves you, ask for proof."

"How do you know these things?"

Bae swallowed and gestured for her to come closer, which she did. "Did he mention a son?" he whispered.

"Y-yes."

He stepped back and nodded. The man he guessed was Jefferson appeared in the doorway with Morraine behind him. "This girl says you two found a knife in Regina's car?" he asked.

"She did," Bae replied, gesturing to Morraine.

"How about you two kids stay here with us?"

The kids glanced at each other, and Bae studied Jefferson. He didn't feel like a deal in the strictest sense of the word. Instead, it seemed he and Rumpelstiltskin had come to an agreement, decided they were on the same side, and went from there. And he felt like a traveller.

Morraine stepped around Jefferson and walked up to him. "Should we?" she asked.

"If it gets us close to that knife, then yes, we should," he replied. Then he turned to Jefferson. "Thank you." Jefferson nodded.

"Well," the woman said, "if you're going to be staying with us, then I'm Belle, and allow me to show you the guest bedrooms." She walked up the stairs, and Bae and Morraine followed. She walked down a second floor hall and opened a door, gesturing to the inside. The kids walked inside and thanked her as they passed. "I take it you two will be staying together?" she asked.

"If that's alright," Morraine replied.

"Oh, it's fine. There's a saying here that goes that there's safety in numbers."

Morraine smiled, and the woman reciprocated before closing the door. She turned to Bae and asked, "Now what?"

"I'm not sure, but that woman knows my father. Loves him, apparently. Made a deal with him, certainly. The man, Jefferson, he has some sort of agreement with my father that isn't a deal, per se, but something similar. That means he knows Rumpelstiltskin, too. And what's more, they apparently know, or know of, the woman who has Rumpelstiltskin's knife. We're in the right place."

She stepped toward him. "Bae," she whispered, then she glanced around the room. "Baelfire, this is dangerous. This woman, I know you felt something on her, I saw it. And she has the knife, the knife which would make her the Dark One if she killed your father with it."

"And that may be what she wants. I prefer my father to some stranger as the Dark One, M. An already powerful witch as the Dark One, it's just too much for one person. If the power doesn't kill her, she'll kill everyone else, and then no one gets their happy ending. That desire of hers is what brought everyone here in the first place, it feels like. But part of the curse had been broken, to be replaced by the presence of magic in general."

"What does this mean?"

"It means she's trying to save what effort she's made toward winning. She's getting desperate."


	14. The Search

The Search

Emma studied the picture of the mayor of Storybrooke with Rumpelstiltskin's knife in her hand, proudly showing it off for the camera. Did she want to be found? Or was she cocky enough to assume that no one would go after her if she had the knife?

Emma didn't know much about this magical world that had somehow become Storybrooke, but something told her that an evil queen with magical powers having a knife of Rumpelstiltskin's was very, very bad. She pulled Henry's book out of the drawer and opened it to an illustration depicting the knife in question. The caption called it the 'Knife of the Dark One', but there was no reference to it on the page opposite the image. She turned the page and scanned the text in search of the phrase and terms related to it.

The knife, she found out, was explained on page three of the tale and depicted on page thirteen. That's dumb, she thought, but nonetheless, she read. 'For the Knife of the Dark One, if possessed by another, could control the Dark One, the powerful entity that stalked the forest around the village. In the time of Rumpelstiltskin, this entity could only be controlled by the duke, who held dominion over the village where the spinner and his son lived, as well as all surrounding area, and who had complete control of the knife.' She flipped to the page opposite the image of the knife and read, 'The spinner pulled the knife out of the dead Zoso to find his name on it instead of the former Dark One's. He knew immediately what had happened, and while at first it frightened him, he knew at once that he could protect his son.'

Emma closed the book and set it on the desk next to her computer. So if someone killed the Dark One with his own knife, that person apparently gained his powers.

That was why it felt so bad for Regina to have Rumpelstiltskin's knife.

She picked up the radio and called Henry.

OUAT

"Got it," Henry said, and he turned the radio off and slipped it under his pillow. He walked to the door, opened it a crack, and looked both ways before tiptoeing out into the hall. He crept down to Regina's bedroom, opened it, and began to comb the room.

When he failed to find a knife of any sort, but he succeeded in finding a key ring, he stopped in the middle of the room and paused. Where would Regina hide something extremely important?

And he knew the answer almost immediately-the one place in town that no one dared to look for anything of hers, even their own hearts.

It took all he had for Henry to restrain his excitement as he slipped out of Regina's room, down the stairs, and out the back door. He walked toward the cemetery, continually looking over his shoulder and wondering if someone working for Regina was watching him.

He reached the cemetery and made straight for the mausoleum labeled 'Mills'. He again checked his surroundings for enemy agents, and then he began rummaging through the keys in search of the one that would open the door. He found it and slipped inside. The creak of the door as it closed was the only sound.

Henry took a deep breath of the musty, dank air and walked straight for the coffin in the center. The mausoleum was otherwise empty, a clue in his mind that it served a second purpose. There was only one door, so the only other option was the coffin. He pushed on the lid.

The coffin was empty and bottomless, revealing a stairwell under the coffin proper that led to a subterranian space. He vaulted over the edge of the coffin and landed on the stairwell.

He made his way down the stairs to a chamber full of little vaults that he figured must contain hearts. But he had no idea where to start.

Footsteps echoed in the mausoleum above, and Henry pressed his back against a wall of vaults. The footsteps approached, paused, presumably at the edge of the coffin, and then descended the stairs. Henry pressed his back even closer against the vaults. But when he heard that the footsteps were accompanied by the click of a cane, he relaxed. There was only one man in town that he knew of that used a cane.

"Hello, Henry," Mr. Gold said when he reached the foot of the stairs. Henry stepped forward.

"Hey, Mr. Gold," Henry replied.

"What brings you down here?"

"I'm looking for something. What're you doing here?"

"Looking for someone."

Henry shrugged. "Close enough."

"If my someone has your something, then yes, it may be. Well, we can't very well stay down here."

"Where do we go?"

"I believe I know just the place."

"Can I tell my mom?"

"By all means."

"Okay."

OUAT

Bae leaned over the banister as Jefferson paced in the foyer, talking seemingly to no one, even though he was getting a response. "Wait, the kid who lives with her doesn't even know where that knife could be?" he asked. "Okay, okay, we'll think of something...Yeah, let Emma work that out. Tell her where the kid's going, since he's hers...I don't want anyone else losing family on this journey."

This line gave Bae pause. Was that how his father saw it? Was that his version of letting him go? He blinked and shook his head. Focus, he told himself.

"Okay, bring him right over, and we'll talk to his mom...And the kids, we'll talk to them, too, see if maybe they knew anything and that's why they came out of the woods...We'll be here."

Something closed with a snap, and Jefferson put something in his pocket. Bae pulled away from the banister and returned to the guest bedroom, where Morraine waited. "What did you find out?" she asked.

"I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think someone's coming. Maybe two people? A child, certainly," he replied. "If I didn't know this world was so strange, I could've sworn Jefferson had gone mad."

"What do you mean?"

"He has a way of communicating with others while talking to no one."

She bit her lip and let out a soft, "Huh."

He took a seat next to her and folded his hands in his lap. It reminded him, strangely, of his last day in the village, when she'd given him what he thought then was the solution to all of his problems. The Blue Fairy.

And because of that gods-forsaken bean, he ended up in Sherwood. And because Morraine tried to follow, she not only ended up in Sherwood, as well, but she ended up sent backwards for a stretch to boot. He let out an irritated sigh and flopped backward onto the bed, his arms at his sides. Morraine turned to face him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Our lives are a complete mess," he replied.

The sound of a car pulling up made him sit up, and they both stared at the door. The car parked, and two doors opened and then closed. And then there were the sounds of the front door opening and closing. Bae got to his feet and crept toward the door. He opened it a crack and peered out at the foyer below.

His father accompanied a boy of about ten, and they met Jefferson and Belle. Belle and Rumpelstiltskin hugged, a strange ritual for two people who claim to love each other, he thought. Rumpelstiltskin must've asked about them, because Jefferson looked right at the open door through which Bae watched. He turned toward Morraine and said, "Guess we're on. Let's go."

She stood, and they walked side-by-side down the stairs to the foyer.

And Bae had no idea what to say to the man standing before him. A heavy silence hung over the group, a silence no one dared to break, or seemed able to. Bae turned and bowed his head, and Rumpelstiltskin stepped forward and reached for him. "No," Bae said.

Morraine blinked, watching the awkward scene between father and son unfold before her. How much time, truly, had passed between when they last saw each other and the breaking of the Ring? she wondered.

Bae looked up and met his father's eyes. "You don't not have a reason to ask for me," he said. "Your true reasons may be your own, but surely you have a purpose you're willing to share with us."

"I do, Bae," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "I'm looking for-"

"The knife. The knife that that woman Regina has in her car thing." Bae's tone had changed, something that took even Morraine by surprise.

"It's in her car?" the boy asked.

"Yes. I think she was trying to leave and we stopped her," Morraine said.

"Oh, of course," Rumpelstiltskin replied, smiling politely.

"Well, now that you know where to start looking, maybe we can return to looking for other Sherwood survivors. We lost too much time here, anyway." Bae walked back upstairs without another word, and Morraine ran after him.


	15. True Reunion

True Reunion

Bae didn't say a single word to Morraine as they slipped out of the window, just as they did at the inn, and ventured, not for the first time, into the forest. In spite of her attempts at conversation, he was frustratingly, impossibly, stubbornly quiet. Finally, after hours of getting nowhere and at the end of a frayed rope, she snapped, "He didn't even do anything to you."

He wheeled on her. "Yes, he did. He was only there to see what he could get out of me. He has it. If I didn't leave, he'd cast me aside again. Even then, he probably did already. He found someone and they profess to love each other, so they can start a new life somewhere else and not have to involve me in it."

"He's trying to involve you."

"He shouldn't. He broke our deal and he thinks he can get me back. The only thing I have need to discuss with him is matters of business, and my business with him is done. We have survivors to find."

"Bae, you're running, just like he did." Externally, Bae's anger faded, replaced by a blank expression. "What are you afraid of? Why do you avoid contact with him now that he's back in your life? He tried to reach out to you today."

"It won't matter if he kills you because of me."

Morraine stared blankly at her companion. "What are you talking about?"

"He killed a man because I scraped my knee. Imagine what would happen to you if I were wounded in battle or while searching for the others and he found out about it. He'll do a lot worse than turn you into a snail and stomp on you." He turned away, and she gingerly approached him and lay a hand on his shoulder. He covered her hand with his and stared at the forest floor. He looked up, let his hand fall to his side, and stepped forward, letting her hand fall off his shoulder.

They made their way down the forest path, but this time, Morraine made no attempt at conversation.

Bae made a point of keeping his eyes on the trail in front of him and searching for signs of Merry Men, or purposeful lack thereof. The forest was silent for the most part, and any lack of human contact he found was merely lack of human contact, not the covering of tracks typically done by Merry Men.

But then he found it. The leaves on some of the trees were too just so. The dirt covering the trail was too fine and featureless. There was a faint smell of a wood fire in the air, and the dirt covering the fire pit made it look too much like it had never been there.

With renewed vigor, he searched the surrounding area, with a slightly confused Morraine standing watch. "Here," Bae called, and Morraine ran to him. A shelter someone had forgotten to take down hung in the branches of two trees, and a second fire pit lay untouched and still burning. "They had to flee, and flee quickly."

The two combed the area in search of bodies, but Morraine stopped first. Lying in a patch of forest, surrounded and cradled by trees, was a horse shot full of arrows. The horse was blacker than night, and its eyes were open. "Bae," she said. "Bae, look at this."

He appeared out of the forest in front of her and stopped in his tracks upon seeing the horse. He crept toward it and studied it. "That's a beauty," he said. "I'd wager that the prince is now without his mount."

"Does he need it?"

He looked up at her. "That depends on who you ask." He glanced down at the horse again and stepped back. "The horse is the only apparent casualty here." Morraine smiled to him and walked back to the abandoned camp. The kids, in their effort to flee, haven't covered their tracks, making them easy to follow.

Bae fell in behind her as she picked her way through the forest, following kids who were desperate to flee a sadistic prince. The path the kids carved for themselves wound and twisted almost endlessly, sometimes going in more than one circle, until finally leading to another camp on the crest of a hill.

One of the kids picked up his bow and armed it upon hearing them approach, but Bae and Morraine held their hands up and stepped into his line of sight. The Merry Man lowered the bow and called to others in the camp, four others, to be exact.

"Are you the only two others?" one of the kids asked.

"We don't know," Morraine replied. "We wondered if we were the only two left alive. Seven others are dead."

"That means six need to be found," the boy with the bow said.

"If the prince didn't get to them already," Bae said.

"He followed us?" another boy asked.

"Not only that, he should be dead, and he made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin that he hasn't honored yet. He's turning into some psychotic monster." Morraine flinched at the sudden but slight harshness in Bae's tone, but she said nothing. "The question, though, is how did you outrun him?"

A boy with his arm in a sling stepped forward and smiled. "You're the sensitive, kid. Surely you can feel the places here that were protected."

"You hid in one of them."

"Winner, winner," Fallon said, that smile still on his face. With his free hand, he gestured to the kids, and they walked into the camp. "Okay, kid, how'd you two make it?"

"Running, mostly. Sometimes hiding in this town called Storybrooke that's only a short distance that way." Bae pointed.

"Storybrooke? That's a funny name for a place."

"We're in a funny world, Fallon. What can you expect?"

"True. Anyway, since you're here, you may as well stay."

"Thanks."

OUAT

Morraine returned from the forest with an armful of kindling to find Bae sitting cross-legged, poking at the fire. "What are you doing up still?" she asked, setting the sticks down next to the rest of the reserve firewood and taking a seat next to him.

"Thinking," he replied.

"What about?"

"What you said earlier, that I'm running."

"And?"

"And you're right. I am running, because here's my father in this strange world that's unaccustomed to the magic brought to it, and the only thing I've been able to discuss with him without flying into a fit of some form is business. He still let me go, he still broke his deal with me, and I don't know what to do about that now." He buried his face in his hands, letting the stick fall to the ground. "My life's a mess."

"Bae, two of these kids are going to scout for survivors tomorrow, two are going to find food, and the last will watch the camp. That just leaves us."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm going to lead you back to the town, and we're going to find your father, and you're going to talk to him. You're going to have a good, honest heart-to-heart with him, say whatever's on your mind, whatever you feel the need to discuss."

"And how do you know I'm going to do all this?"

"Because I'm dragging you down there myself, and if I have to tie you up and carry you there, I will."

"And you expect me to actually talk to that man?"

"You don't hate him, Bae, I can tell that much just by the way you are when you talk about him. Just talk to him."

Bae sighed and looked down at the stick. "Alright," he whispered. "No promises about the outcome, though."

"I don't want promises about the outcome. I want promises about going there."

Bae looked at Morraine and nodded.

OUAT

Bae awoke with a start, and it took him a moment to realize that what roused him was the sound of a twig snapping not twenty feet from the camp. He shook Morraine awake and held a finger to his lips. She wiped sleep from her eyes and nodded to him. The fire still burned, so they kicked dirt onto it.

They both picked up and armed their bows and turned toward the forest, stepping around the five sleeping bodies of the survivors they'd found only hours prior. Another twig snapped, and they turned toward it. Footsteps over the fallen leaves. The kids took aim. Bae crept toward the sound, keeping his steps silent.

The footsteps stopped, and Bae looked over his shoulder at Morraine. He tilted his head toward the forest, and she nodded, slid around the sound, and disappeard. Bae kept the arrow steady and waited.

The footsteps turned and approached what he figured was Morraine's general direction, and he fired.

A man screamed and stumbled into the camp, clutching his arm, from which the shaft of an arrow protruded. Not one second after Bae met the man's eyes, he tossed his bow aside, called for Morraine, and helped him sit down. "Papa, I'm sorry, I...I thought you were-"

Morraine stepped into view and took aim. Bae pushed his way between Rumpelstiltskin and his companion and shouted, "No!"

OUAT

Bae was trying to protect him, Gold realized at once. After all that had happened, Bae tried to protect him.

He turned toward the boy crouched next to him and looked over his shoulder at his companion. The girl lowered the bow and arrow, but her eyes remained narrow. Bae turned his attention to the arrow in Gold's upper arm. With a jerk, he ripped the arrow out and tossed it aside. He worked his fingers into the hole in the fabric of his father's strange new clothes and studied the wound. "How does it feel?" he asked, meeting his father's gaze again.

"Was it in too deep?" Gold asked.

"It doesn't look bad, but sometimes arrows feel worse than they look. You don't seem to be bleeding to heavily, so that's a good sign. Does it hurt?"

"I've been through worse."

"Good." Bae pulled away and stepped back. "I'd go easy on that arm, though, if I were you."

"Thank you, Bae," Gold said with a soft smile. Bae reciprocated.

"I do have one question."

"By all means, ask anything."

"What are you doing in the woods at this hour in the first place?"

Gold wet his lip. "Well, I'm looking for a place to bury the knife once I get it back. I figure with the investigation being handled by all the proper people, I have to make myself useful somehow."

"The knife," he repeated, and then he looked at his companion. "The one we found in Regina's car?"

"It's in her car?" Gold asked.

"Do you know where it is?"

"You know a car is a machine right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when it breaks or, in this case, crashes, it needs to be taken to someone known in this world as a mechanic. He has a specialized place to fix the car and get it to function again."

"So this mechanic person knows about the knife. Maybe it's with him."

"Bae, it's far too early to see him right now."

"Hmm, you're right." Bae sat cross-legged, facing his father.

"Bae, we have to tell them," the girl said.

"Not necessarily. They won't recognize the Dark One with a limp and a normal complexion. And quite frankly, I think we're the only ones who knew him before he changed."

Gold turned to more completely face the girl, and with the stars and moon as his only light, studied her closely. He nearly leaned on his bad arm, but he thought better of it, and Bae was about to stop him, anyway. But even as the girl took a seat next to Bae, he couldn't recognize her, in spite of how certain he was that she recognized him.

But then, everyone recognized him. He had a habit of knowing everyone's business, after all.

"And besides, it's not like they know my name or relation to him."

"You haven't told them?" Gold asked, his gaze shooting to Bae.

"I prefer as few people knowing my full name as possible."

Gold smiled. "Very wise, my boy."

"Well, with the prince running around, mountless and confined to a much smaller distance away from us, that woman Regina with Papa's knife, and a few other factors I don't fully know about but know they're there, unless we can return him safely to town, then it looks like we're playing host to the Dark One."

A worried look passed through the girl's eyes, but it was gone as suddenly as it came. "Alright," she said.

Bae nodded to her and then looked at Gold. "Where's your walking stick?"

"I think I dropped it in the woods," Gold replied.

"Here, c'mon." Bae helped Gold to his feet, and they walked into the forest. Ten feet in, the moonlight struck the strange-looking stick Bae had seen Gold with on their two previous encounters. Gold bent down to pick it up, and they turned to walk back to camp. "I guess I should let go, now," Bae said. "Since...you know...you don't need my help."

"No," Gold said, squeezing Bae's shoulder. "I don't want to let you go." Bae closed his eyes and let out a breath, and they walked back to camp.


	16. Search and Seizure

Search and Seizure

Bae stared up at Regina. The Knife of the Dark One almost hung from her hand, but she tightened her grip and plunged it down into the heap before her.

In the instants before the figure covered in the red cape was stabbed to death, it moved, rasing an arm.

With one blow, Regina had killed the figure.

OUAT

Bae sat bolt upright, staring straight into the faces of the Merry Men they'd found at the camp, Morraine, and Rumpelstiltskin. His breathing steadied, and he got to his feet. Rumpelstiltskin approached him and asked, "Are you alright?"

Bae nodded. "I just had a nightmare, is all." He looked at Morraine and tipped his head toward the edge of the camp. They walked over to the indicated semi-private location. "Well, our initial reason for going to Storybrooke is gone. Now what?" he asked in a low voice.

"We still need that knife, remember?" she replied. "And anyway, anywhere with a large number of witnesses is much safer than out here, especially when it comes to the prince."

Bae cast a glance toward the forest almost on instict. "We have to get going, then. We can't stay much longer." She nodded, and they returned to the group.

"We have to take this stranger back into town," Morraine said to the others. "If you can, disassemble this camp and relocate before he figures out where you've gone." Fallon narrowed his eyes, but she shot daggars at him before he could protest.

Bae and Rumpelstiltskin crossed the camp, with Morraine taking up the rear, and they made their way through the forest. "Alright," Bae said as soon as they were out of earshot of the camp. "This mechanic person you told me about earlier. Once we get to town, where do we find him."

"I'll show you," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

That's a huge help, Bae thought. "And since the theory is that he might have the knife, how do we get it back?"

"You'd be surprised how easy such a thing is in this world, Bae, especially here. All I have to do is tell him the knife is mine, and he'll surrender it."

"And suppose he doesn't have the knife?" Morraine asked. "What then?"

"Then we assume Regina has hidden it somewhere else, perhaps in her castle or a little vault she has in a room that's full of hearts."

"Oh, she sounds like a charming woman."

"Something tells me the heart chamber is an afterthought," Bae said.

"Most likely. Henry did check there first, after all," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "She wouldn't put something as important as the knife somewhere where she knew someone would look for it."

"Alright, so where would she put it?" Morraine snapped.

"Well, someone's all in a mood this morning."

"Answer the question."

"Alright, alright. She'd keep it close if she knew someone would get to it."

"In her castle," Bae and Rumpelstiltskin said at once. Bae had turned to face Morraine and his father. Rumpelstiltskin smiled, and understanding flashed through Morraine's eyes. Bae turned and continued down the path, followed closely by his father and their companion.

OUAT

The kids watched the curb outside while Gold walked into the mechanic's garage. "Can I help you?" the man asked, wiping off a wrench.

"Yes, actually," Gold replied. "I'm looking for a knife, about a foot long, strangely decorated, curved blade. Have you seen it?"

"Well, I'm sorry to say that I haven't, Mr. Gold, but I'll be sure to let you know if I do."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I think I know where it is now." He smiled and walked out of the garage, and before either of the kids could ask, he said, "Regina took it back in an effort to hide it, perhaps during the night." For a moment, Bae's thoughts flashed on his dream, but he ignored them in favor of the task at hand.

"She _is_ getting desperate," Morraine said, looking at Bae.

"We need to move quickly," Bae replied. "Let's go."

OUAT

Emma climbed out of the yellow bug and slammed the door. For reasons unbeknownst to her, her gaze was drawn across the street to Gold and the two kids from Granny's Bed and Breakfast approaching the pawn shop. She locked her car and ran across the street toward them. "Hello, Miss Swan," Gold said, not taking his eyes off his path.

"You look like you're in a hurry," Emma replied.

"So?"

"So, you never look like you're in a hurry."

"This is a set of special circumstances."

"The knife?"

Gold and the kids stopped. "You're good at this, dearie." Emma nodded. "Well, since you and Henry are also trying to get us out of here and I no longer have any reason to stay in this world," he gestured to the boy, who smiled to Emma, "then I suppose you can help us."

Emma paused and bit her lip, folding her arms across her chest and shifting her weight. "So you want me to help you. Usually with you favors come with a price."

"I'm repaying you for your efforts to find my son, and your efforts in breaking the curse and returning the-what does Henry call it?-the Happily Ever After."

The kids exchanged a look and watched the scene before them with a blend of apprehension and curiosity. Emma nodded slowly and said, "Well, finding people and breaking curses are what I do."

"How good are you at finding things?"

"How about you leave that to us," the boy said. "That's what we do."

Gold turned to the kids, titled his head to one side, pursed his lips, and said, "Hm."

"You don't need to shelter me anymore, Papa. Let M and I go. We'll be just fine."

Gold touched the boy's shoulder and whispered, "Be careful."

The boy nodded and turned to Emma. "Could you point us in the direction of Regina's castle?"

"Yeah, sure," Emma replied. She proceeded to give directions in a way she hoped the kids would understand. They nodded attentively and then ran off. She took a step toward the pawn shop owner. "We're gonna have to give alibis to those kids."

"Then that's our part," Gold replied. He gestured to the shop on the corner opposite them. "Please, come into my office."

OUAT

Bae and Morraine walked down the street, scanning the houses in search of the one that fit the direction the woman had given them. "What do we do once we're inside?" Morraine asked.

"For want of a better plan, comb all the obvious choices of rooms for keeping something important in," Bae replied. "Bedchambers especially."

"How do we find those?"

"I suspect nothing's changed between the worlds as far as the location of bedchambers. Of course, the inn is our only example."

"It'll have to do, then. Do you know how much time we have to pull this off?"

"I don't know, but let's hope it's enough." Bae spotted a white two-story house with columns lining the front of it. Part of the facade curved out in a semi-circle. "Here we are."

"Good. Let's find our way in."

The kids circled around the house to find a half-cut apple tree in the backyard, its fruit frozen somewhere between inedible and completely rotten. The kids turned their attention to an open second story window and began studying the wall for any way to get up to it. She drew his attention to a pipe attached to the wall and then worked her way up. Bae waited until she slipped into the room before he followed.

The room was full of clocks and other knick-knacks, but it didn't seem like a woman's room. They walked out of the room and down the hall to another. Bae tried the handle, found it unlocked, and nodded to Morraine. They slipped inside, and Bae closed the door behind them.

"Where do we start?" she asked, studying the expanse beyond, with its four poster bed dressed in black, walls of mirrors, and numerous chests of drawers.

"I'd check the drawers. City women kept everything in there," he replied. She shrugged, and the kids began their search.

OUAT

Gold and Emma sat facing each other on opposite sides of the desk. "So we're going to say that they're from Canada and that I'm going to do everything I can to find them," Emma said, and Gold nodded. "Okay, so when these kids get done with this, they're going to go back into the forest?"

"One could figure," he replied. "They've done it before. Twice."

"So our pet thieves like to hide in the forest and dress up like Robin Hood. I thought this town was just about fairy tales."

"Is Alice in Wonderland a fairy tale?"

"According to some people."

"Robin Hood is a legend. According to some people, this could qualify as a fairy tale."

"So, we can expect to find nearly every character from every famous fantasy story."

"More or less. You're getting used to it, I see."

"Sort of."

"Well, so is this world. It takes time for a place like this realm to adjust to the sudden reintroduction of magic." Emma nodded, willing to take Gold's word for it rather than try to prove it for herself.

"Okay," she said. "I think I can live with all this, but the matter at hand is what we do about Regina when she finds out the knife is missing."

"Dearie, I've been waiting for Regina to confront us for a long time. You will be her first suspect, of course, but I'm certain you have plenty of support, even mine."

"Uh...thanks? I think?"

Gold smiled, and a chill went up Emma's spine. What did he know? she wondered. What was he planning? "Well," Gold said. "I believe that's all our business here, unless there's anything else you'd like to discuss?"

"No, I'm good."

"Well, then."

Emma nodded and walked out of the pawn shop as quickly as possible.

OUAT

Bae opened a drawer and felt around through the contents without really looking at them-not that he'd want to based on what did manage to get through his filters-and once he deemed it empty, he moved on to the drawer below it. Only Morraine's sharp whistle distracted him from his frantic search. She beckoned him across the room, and in less than ten strides, he stood next to her.

She held up a long mahogany box with both hands, as if presenting it, and he looked from the box to her proud smile and back again. She pushed the box closer to him, and he took it and opened it. Inside, mounted on its own stand, was the knife, name side up. Rumpelstiltskin.

Bae closed the box and glanced over Morraine's shoulder at the window. She followed his gaze, turned back to him, and shook her head. "Retrace our steps?" he mouthed, and she nodded.

The kids moved toward the door, and he paused and pressed his ear against the painted wood. Once he satisfied himself that nothing was approaching them on the other side, he opened the door a crack. A glance in both directions revealed that nothing was lying in wait, either. He looked over his shoulder and nodded to his companion, and they crept back down the hall to the boy's room, and their escape.

Bae paused at the door and held up a hand to stop Morraine. Something on the other side of the door felt strong, and familiar, bringing to mind the woman in the car that they had crashed on accident.

Her power, he thought suddenly, and he turned to Morraine and mouthed, "Back door." She nodded, walked to the banister, and launched herself over it. She landed softly.

He tucked the box under his arm and launched himself over the banister after her, bending his knees upon impact and waiting for the inevitable appearance of Regina and whatever magic attack she had up her sleeve, for certainly his landing was much louder than his companion's.

But the woman made no such appearance and didn't seem to give any indication that she'd heard anything. Bae straightened and let out the breath he'd been holding.

The phone rang, causing Regina to burst out of the boy's room and rush down the stairs. Bae pressed Morraine back against the wall under the stairwell and forced his own breathing to remain as silent as possible. The woman spoke the same way Jefferson did, to someone and to no one. For a moment, Bae wondered what magic would allow a person to do such a thing, but he stopped himself. His mission was to get himself and Morraine out safely and without Regina's notice.

Regina continued to talk. Bae cautiously peeked around the stairwell, and then he and Morraine padded around its base to a hallway that led to a large glass door that opened out to the back yard. The kids exchanged a smile and continued to pad toward their exit.

Something clicked, and the woman walked back to the stairwell. The kids froze, but as she passed, she didn't even glance their way. They slipped out the glass door with it making barely a click, and within minutes, they were walking casually down Main Street.


	17. Return of the Prince

Return of the Prince

Bae looked in both directions along the sidewalk and then double-checked the counter visible through the window in the door. With Morraine facing the street, he opened the door and set the box on the floor next to it. Rumpelstiltskin met Bae's gaze for the barest instant before returning his attention to a customer. Bae walked out of the shop. "Consider our knife problems offically solved," he said.

"Good," she replied. They began to walk toward the edge of town. She licked her lip. "I knew you wouldn't let him hurt me."

"I didn't know it was him."

"Either way." She turned to face him. "Thank you, Baelfire."

"Of course. Anytime." She smiled at him, and he found himself returning the gesture. Her mouth twitched, and she glanced down at the sidewalk. He felt his face grow hot. Then, suddenly, she kissed him on the cheek and walked down the street, leaving Bae speechless. After a moment, he ran to catch up to her.

OUAT

Fallon leaned against a tree near the old camp when Bae and Morraine approached. "What are you still doing here?" Bae asked.

"Apparently I'm too injured to shoot," Fallon replied indignantly.

"You did take a nasty blow to the shoulder," Morraine said. He shot her a look, and Bae stepped between them.

"Just because you can't shoot doesn't mean you can't be useful," Bae said. "We still need to find a new camp."

"When the others get back," Fallon said. "Then we can go."

Morraine pulled Bae aside and whispered harshly, "If the prince comes and we're still here, we'll die because of him."

"Our survival depends on our silence. How else are they to know where we are?"

"We choose somewhere-" She stopped, and in her eyes he saw the same thought that would've stopped him if the positions were switched. She muttered a curse, and he put his hands on her shoulders. When she locked eyes again, she breathed, "But how?"

He looked around at the trees. "We hide," he said. She creased her brow, so he added, "The ambush sort, not the cowardly sort."

"Oh, right."

Bae turned to Fallon and asked, "Can you climb?"

OUAT

Gold waited until the customer walked out of his shop and then he walked up to the door. He picked up the box and opened it, and he smiled with relief and pride. He closed the box, cast a wary glance out the door, and limped to his back office with the box in his free hand.

He set the box on the desk. That was one problem taken care of, for now. Regina would certainly come back for it, but there was also the matter of the self-made prince who had yet to pay his debts.

He sat down at the desk and began polishing the knife. In case worse came to worst, he did want to look his best.

OUAT

Bae, Morraine, and Fallon perched in their trees, the former two with armed bows at the ready. The son had moved across its zenith and was half-way through its descent by the time a dark cloud crossed over the forest floor. Bae and Morraine drew their strings.

The cloud paused and began to swirl around like whirlpool. A column of purplish-black smoke drifted up from the center of the whirlpool, and the rest of the cloud followed it, giving it shape and structure. The cloud became denser, and it changed color. Pulling out of the purplish-black mass was yellow, peach, and brown.

The prince.

A knot formed in Bae's stomach and almost made him throw up, thus giving away his position. But he aimed and watched, waiting for just the right moment, for him to turn to just the right position.

When that finally happened and Bae finally fired his shot, the prince turned into a puff of smoke, regained his form as the arrow landed harmlessly in a bush, and turned toward Bae's hiding place. With a flick of the prince's wrist, Bae fell out of the tree and landed on his stomach in a bush. He got to his feet. His eyes flashed to another tree, but it didn't seem likely that the prince caught this gesture.

The prince laughed and put his hands on his hips. "You killed me, Robin Hood. You can't kill what's already dead," he said. Bae didn't dare mention that the prince might've been mistaken about who he was.

"What was Rumpelstiltskin's price?" Bae asked.

For a moment, the prince stared at him blankly, but then he readopted his arrogant expression. Bae's eyes roamed the scratches, which had started to rapidly decay, and the arrow wounds in his eye and shoulder, which had started to fester into ugly, puss-filled things.

Bae's stomach heaved, but he managed to say, "That's your price, isn't it? Your immortality at the cost of being turned into the walking dead."

The prince regarded him coldly, but Bae was more concerned with keeping the contents of his stomach down than how this soon-to-be wraith was going to kill him. "How do you know of my deal with the Dark One?" the creature asked.

"I can feel it on you. You haven't paid a price proper, and perhaps he foresaw this, and you're turning into something less than a corpse. The saying does go that no one breaks deals with Rumpelstiltskin."

"How do you know him?"

"None of your concern."

"Really? I was hoping you could get me out of this."

"After all those months you tried to kill me? You don't have the chance that the gods gave rice pudding."

The prince moved to strike Bae, but he caught the creature's hand before any contact could be made. The prince shot back, leaving Bae with a hand covered in sticky, smelly stuff. He stared at his hand, and as soon as he realized what the coating was made of, his stomach heaved again. He wretched forward and spilled the contents of his stomach onto the forest floor.

Bae sank to his knees and panted, his eyes closed. He wiped his face off with a sleeve, wiped the gunk off his hand and onto a nearby patch of grass, and turned his gaze up toward the corpse. "The price you pay for trying to break your deal is giving Rumpelstiltskin what he wants no matter what. He wanted your life, and now he's going to get it. You're going to rot into nothing, and eventually, you will collapse in on yourself."

"Unless I kill him first and get his powers."

"How are you going to do that? He wouldn't let the knife out of his sight."

"There's a knife?" The prince leaned forward, and Bae was almost overwhelmed by the scent of earth and rot. "Tell me more."

"No."

The creature shot a hand toward Bae, who ducked and ran across the camp. Fallon, perched in the tree with an arrow in hand, ready to serve as a spear, stared at him in horror. He shot his eyes toward Morraine, who was studying the creature as more than an object of terror. With a jolt, he realized she was trying to think of a way to kill it. She was trying to remember anything she may have overheard during the Ogre Wars that he had heard so much about.

Bae's thoughts were taking him away from the creature that turned to approach him, but he couldn't help it. This current was too strong.

The Blue Star, the Blue Fairy, Reul Ghorm. All names for that fairy who told Bae of a way to a land without magic, so he could be with his father. What he got instead was passage to a forest ruled by this power-hungry prince before him, the one who was promised power and immortality in exchange for life or some equivalent.

The Blue Fairy was the reason he spent nearly seven months just trying to survive.

Bae kicked a stick at his feet, and it landed easily in his hand. The creature was close now. Bae screamed and swung the stick at its head. He connected, and the creature stumbled a few steps to the side. Miraculously, his head was still attached.

The prince straightened and turned back toward him. The stick was still in Bae's hand, and suddenly, his mind flickered upon an idea. "M, seven, F, eight," he yelled. Morraine and Fallon leapt out of their trees and ran to the indicated positions. Morraine drew the string on the bow, arrow nocked, and Fallon readied the arrow in his hand to throw like a spear.

The prince laughed, and Bae took a step back. Just as he expected, the prince followed, and so did the other two kids. Bae turned and broke into a sprint toward the town. The prince followed in a semi-substantial form, part person, part black cloud, and Morraine and Fallon took off after it.

OUAT

Jefferson drove down the road, again on the way to the grocery store, when he saw the strangest thing in the road ahead of him. The boy he'd met but two days prior was running toward him, and he seemed to be running from the half-man, half-dark mass behind him.

The boy jumped just as Jefferson swerved out of the way of whatever the hell was going on.

OUAT

Bae's foot caught the edge of the car just as the supposedly secure platform fell away beneath him and he tumbled into the street. He tried to land on his feet, but one of them gave beneath him, and he rolled onto his front, his arms tucked beneath him. His ankle throbbed, and he had to struggle to his hands and knees.

Something crashed behind him, and he looked over his shoulder. The car had plowed through the building he and Morraine had visited just hours earlier. The windows had completely shattered, and half of the front of the building had gone missing.

A shadow crept across the pavement, and Bae rolled onto his back to stare up at the prince's corpse. Through the cloud, he saw Morraine and Fallon. Was Fallon smirking? he wondered, but the image was soon obscured.

His eyes drifted up to the corpse's face, which was now more rotten and decayed than before. Was the power doing this to him as quickly as he was using it? he wondered. Most likely, knowing Rumpelstiltskin. Bae rolled onto his side and pushed himself to his feet. His ankle screamed its protests, but he ignored them. He stole a glance toward the shop, where Rumpelstiltskin and Jefferson lapsed into a heated argument, and then he returned his attention to the corpse.

Not yet a wraith, but coming close and burning through his power quickly.

Bae took a step back, fighting the pain. The constantly-shifting cloud again revealed Fallon and Morraine. She had her bow ready, but he seemed too nonchalant. "M," Bae yelled. She turned toward him, and Fallon faced her and smirked.

Then, out of the cloud, he produced a crossbow.

Bae shot forward, his mind completely off the pain in his ankle, and for a moment, as he moved through the dark cloud of the prince, he saw nothing more than six inches in front of him. But this lasted only a moment before he was able to see Fallon again and, finally, tackle him.

Fallon turned his head just the slightest bit toward Bae and then fired his shot before slamming into and sliding across the pavement. Bae's hands scraped the pavement, but he couldn't pay attention to that, not with Morraine's cry of pain and Rumpelstiltskin's voice, heard by him above all else. "I've been expecting you, John."

The chill in Rumpelstiltskin's voice floated on the air, and Bae suddenly realized why this was so. His father was powerful again, and he was using his influence.

Focus, he snapped at himself, looking at Morraine, who'd dropped her bow and arrow to clutch her abdomen. He ran to her and studied the wound. "Does it hurt?" he asked. She shook her head. "M," he whispered. "It's alright. We'll...I'll..."

"For the love of..." she snapped, and she wrenched the arrow from her body herself. "Bae, I appreciate the gesture, but you worried a little too much there."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Like I said, I appreciate it."

Bae nodded and allowed her to lean against him. Then he turned to the creature and Rumpelstiltskin, locked in something of a staring contest. The creature had reduced its size enough to stand eye-to-eye with the Dark One, and he snickered and said, "Who says I need to pay you if I kill you first?"

"Oh, don't tell me you want to do that," Rumpelstiltskin replied in his usual manner. "And all magic comes with a price, John. I thought we already established that."

"There's still a way. Either you back out willingly, or I force you."

"I broke one deal in my life, a mistake I never repeat. Never." The Dark One's voice hardened, and Bae felt it on the wind. "And as for you forcing me, that's not going to happen." In one swift move, before the creature could protest, Rumpelstiltskin slashed across his neck diagonally. The creature stumbled back, and the new wound, instead of bleeding, began to fester almost immediately.

Bae glanced at where Fallon lay, to find that he'd disappeared, and as he turned toward Rumpelstiltskin, he noticed Jefferson close to the car in the building, watching the scene with a mixture of horror, confusion, and perhaps a dash of apathy. He helped Morraine over to him and then turned to face his father again. Even though Rumpelstiltskin leaned slightly on a cane and had a knife with some black stuff on it, he seemed perfectly composed.

The creature again approached Rumpelstiltskin, a wicked grin on its marred, molding face. Bae wanted to gag. Rumpelstiltskin, on the other hand, responded to the creature's attempt at emotion with a wicked smile of his own.

Bae glanced at Morraine and then began to drift closer to his father, his eyes on the corpse brought to life. The prince's eyes darted between the knife and Rumpelstiltskin, and he didn't seem to notice Bae at all. Bae smirked to himself, pulled the bow from his back, and plucked an arrow from his quiver. He nocked the arrow and aimed. Still, the creature didn't seem to notice.

Bae glanced at Rumpelstiltskin, who met his gaze and gave the barest of nods. He returned his attention to the corpse, and he fired.

The creature turned to a puff of smoke just as the arrow reached him, and he regained his substance when it shattered the window of a building across the street. The creature turned toward him and shifted in size so that he towered over Bae, the ever-present black cloud billowing around him. "Well, child, that wasn't the best idea," it said.

"Neither is your trying to kill me, but hey, we all make mistakes," Bae replied.

"You tried to kill him?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, creasing his brow. His face smoothed over and he said, "Well, then. We have a serious problem."

The creature shot toward Bae, and Rumpelstiltskin drove the knife deep into the thing's shoulder. The thing writhed and twisted in an effort to free itself, and the Dark One muttered something so low it was doubtful even he heard it. But the knife glowed nonetheless, and the creature writhed even more forcefully and finally pulled himself free of the blade. Gold swore under his breath.

The thing that used to be Prince John disappeared into the cloud that had seemed to become his constant companion.


	18. Camp of the Living and the Dead

Camp of the Living and the Dead

Bae and Morraine slipped out of the car quietly as Jefferson parked along the alley leading to his back door. "That has to have been the strangest display I have ever seen," she whispered.

"It's my father," he replied. "Strange things always happen around him, and besides, we have bigger problems than strangeness. Fallon, for example."

"Ah, yes, where did he go?"

"You didn't see? You had the better vantage point."

"He just...disappeared. The cloud covered him, just like it produced the crossbow for him, and he was gone."

"So he's one of the prince's minions, then."

"That or about to become like him. It. Whatever."

"I'm starting to like 'it' better, considering the situation."

"Okay, kiddos," Jefferson said, walking toward them and tossing his car keys from one hand to another. "Gold wants you to stay here until this whole complicated mess works itself out, but I'm not going to be stupid enough to lock you up the entire time, so here's the drill. You two and Belle are allowed to leave, in groups, for whatever reason, but she tends not to considering that Regina might be after her. If Regina shows up, if you can, arm yourselves. If you can't, hide or think of something to get her to leave."

"Sounds simple," Bae said, fighting the uneasy feeling in his gut. A cursory glance revealed that Morraine had narrowed her eyes. "Of course, it isn't, really."

"Is it ever?"

Morraine shot Bae an anxious look, and he said, "Could you excuse us for a moment?" They walked along the path, closer to the door. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and whispered, "We can't stay here."

"He'll try to kill us, they both will," she replied.

"And he'll also go after the survivors. We have to get to them first. First, the four from the camp that we did find, and then, the other six, if they're still alive."

"Bae..."

"M, we have to do something, and we can't very well do that in the middle of a town where people watch our every move."

She nodded and turned back toward Jefferson. "Tell your co-conspirator that we have some important business to tend to and it's a shame we can't stay here."

Jefferson blinked. "You two kids sure about this?"

"We have people to find, Jefferson," Bae said. "There's strength and security in numbers, and we're going to need it if we're to deal with a certain problem we have."

"A certain problem, huh?"

"None of your concern at this point," Morraine said, "and whether you have any objections or not, it's best we leave as soon as possible."

Jefferson narrowed his eyes, but he said nothing. Bae and Morraine nodded and walked into the forest.

OUAT

Jefferson walked inside the mansion to find Belle in the living room, watching something on television. "Where's Rumpelstiltskin?" she asked, looking over the top of the sofa toward him.

"Still at work," Jefferson replied. "So far as Regina's supposed to know, nothing's changed except that the magic came back."

"And what about the two kids?"

"Had to leave, look for their friends or something like that."

"What for?"

"Not sure. Think it has to do with one of the Robin Hoods that ran into town with the wraith."

"Wraith? What wraith?"

So Jefferson walked around the end table and took a seat on the sofa next to her, and he told his tale.

OUAT

Bae and Morraine reached the old camp with ease, to find the four others standing in something of a circle, or a square, around the fire pit. "Where's Fallon?" the boy who took aim at them when they first arrived asked.

"That's just it, Tuck," Bae replied. "We don't know. He disappeared."

"Where to?" another boy asked.

"Wherever it is he went to, we can't stay here," Morraine said. "We have to get to the others, if they're still alive, and we have two threats here: the creature, and now, Fallon."

"By the way," a third boy said, "what was that thing?"

"Right now, it's pretty close to a wraith," Bae replied.

"Ew," Tuck said.

"You have no idea. Either way, it's already dead, so it can't be killed, so don't waste your arrows against it. Magic does, however, seem to have an effect on it. It does owe its deal with the Dark One."

"How did Fallon know you were the sensitive?" the fourth boy asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like that he has such knowledge."

The boys exchanged looks and then turned their attention to Bae and Morraine. "Alright," she said. "We'd better get going. You four have been here too long."

Tuck nodded and said, "Okay." He walked over to the two. "I guess I'm in."

The other three followed Tuck. Boy number two said, "We're all for staying alive."

"Let's go," Bae said, and the six carved a new path through the forest.

OUAT

Gold wiped off the knife and put it back in the box. He closed and locked it, limped into his office, and put it in a drawer, which was subsequently locked. When he returned to the shop proper, Regina had walked in. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

"You know what I'm here for," she snapped.

"What are you willing to pay for it?"

"Don't give me that crap."

"What crap? All magic comes with a price, and your family should know that better than any other."

"Don't pull that card on me. I have power here."

"And so do I, dearie. Don't you forget that." Regina narrowed her eyes, but Gold continued to smile politely. "Besides, magic knives are in short supply around here. They're certain to fetch a high price."

She stepped toward the counter and leaned forward so that she was nose-to-nose with him. "What game are you trying to play?"

"My own, by my own rules."

"What rules?"

"Why would I tell you that? I like to maintain my advantage."

"You bastard."

"Thank you."

In a huff, Regina turned and stormed out of the pawn shop. Gold kept smiling.

OUAT

Bae, Morraine, Tuck, and the three others found the nearest stream and then followed it away from its source. Tuck rushed up to Bae and Morraine in the front and asked, "What do we do if we find out the other six are dead?"

"Then we're the only ones left to hold out against that thing and Fallon," Bae replied, not taking his eyes off the forest in front of him. "I hope your aim is good."

"It should be. M's been coaching me."

"Trying to," she muttered.

"She seems to be coaching everyone," Bae said.

"That was my job after the one before me died," Morraine said, causing the boys to stare at her. "What? It was her dying wish."

Bae nodded his understanding, but Tuck asked, "Even when you could've died for it?"

"Doesn't matter much. You always honor a dying wish."

"But-"

"Tuck," Bae said. The boy shut up, and they continued on.

The lead kids kept their eyes peeled for any signs of the presence of Merry Men, but by the light of a half moon and the stars, this was a little more difficult than normal.

Tuck whistled sharply, and Bae stepped in something that didn't feel quite like dirt before backing up and kneeling to get a better look. Morraine had knelt next to him, studying the pit. "They've been here," she said, "or perhaps it was you, before."

"I don't think so," Tuck said. "I don't remember this part of the forest."

"Forests can all look the same sometimes."

"Either way," Bae said, "it's a start. Let's see where it leads us."

He and Morraine stood, and she peered into the forest. After a moment, she set off, and he followed, checking over his shoulder to make sure Tuck and his companions were along for the ride, as well. Morraine's path led the Merry Men away from the stream and into denser woods, but she didn't slow down.

Through the trees and underbrush, she noticed a few embers burning in the darkness. She turned, smiled, and tilted her head toward the embers, and they continued toward the camp. Three bodies were huddled close together close to a few trees, and across the pit from them, in a looser formation, were three others, riddled with arrows.

"What's all this?" one of the boys asked.

"Mourning," Bae replied. Morraine reached out and took his hand, and he laced his fingers through hers. "Three dead, three alive, most likely a group, since the three live ones here are staying in the company of their dead."

"So what do we do?"

"We do the same. It's only right."

Morraine released Bae's hand, and the six of them walked around to different areas of the camp site and lay down, their bows and quivers lying next to them. Bae cast a sidelong glance at Morraine and felt his face get hot. He smiled to himself and stared up at the stars and the moon. Then his eyes fluttered closed.

Morraine waited until Bae's breathing slowed, and she rolled onto her side so that she faced him and tucked her hands beneath her cheek. His head had lolled to one side, and one hand had dirfted up by his ear. She smiled. He seemed to be completely relieved of his life during sleep, completely at peace with the world and his place in it. Perhaps even completely at peace with his life.

Her smile faded as she reflected on the village. Everything had changed once Rumpelstiltskin became the Dark One. He killed people for so much as insulting Bae, and once Morraine noticed how troubled Bae was by this, all she wanted to do was help. It took her some time, but she finally did remember just the tidbit from the front lines that she thought would be of use.

She didn't know until days later that she'd made a horrible mistake, and then she tried to follow him. That was how she first met John.

The prince was alive and well back then, and he was fresh from a deal with the Dark One and high on his new power. Somehow, she failed to escape his notice. Perhaps he felt her anxiety. She, too, was fresh from her own encounter with Rumpelstiltskin. Did he also know why such anxiety existed? She long suspected that he did, or he may have seen her as a good target.

Either way, she remembered vividly the moment he splayed his hands, creating the soon-to-be-famous black cloud. She remembered how she tried to run, how the cloud beat her to the edge of the forest and engulfed her. And she remembered waking up in an unfamiliar wood surrounded by boys and girls all in what she took to be uniforms. Boy or girl, the kids all wore brown, white, and green outfits and had bows and quivers slung on their backs.

They took her in and taught her how to shoot. And several weeks later, a Killing came, and her archery mentor was taken by an arrow, managing to urge Morraine to carry on the tradition of teaching before gasping out her last.

Since the Killing, worry gripped her, causing her to fear that perhaps she might never see Baelfire again. Until two and a half years after her initiation into the deadly game she'd been forced to play, when, after they returned from a mission, boys from the unit she'd been leading brought back a boy they said appeared out of a green portal, shaken but immediately recognizable.

When they had a moment alone, she merely introduced herself as M, and he gave no name, nickname or otherwise. Fine by her. Names were power, after all, and the less anyone had on you, the better.

The boy found his home, and every now and then, they went on missions to the city together. Only recently did they reveal that they recognized each other. Shortly after, the Ring was broken, and they found themselves separated from the other survivors, in an unfamiliar place, and when they tried to find the others, they found that half their number had died because of the prince. Or Fallon.

That new development puzzled her almost as much as it bothered her, and it carried with it a sense of betrayal. Fallon had been the Robin Hood, their leader and the one who was supposed to embody the ideals of the first Robin Hood. Their little legends said he stole from the prince and left the loot in various places throughout Sherwood for the Merry Men to use. Fallon was precisely the opposite, and it didn't sit well with Morraine at all.

She closed her eyes and rolled back onto her back. Her mind was too heavy to guarantee her the restful sleep that Bae was having, but she did fall into slumber.


	19. Under Attack

Under Attack

Morraine awoke just as the first rays of dawn turned the sky from its pitch blackness into something resembling silver. The three they'd found at the camp were also stirring into wakefulness, but Bae remained in his peaceful state of sleep. She smiled as her eyes fell on him, but she stood and faced the three survivors with a solemn face. "I'm sorry about what happened," she whispered.

"It's alright," a dirty-faced, scruffy girl replied. Her eyes flicked to the bodies, and then she looked at Bae and finally back to Morraine. For a moment, the latter felt a flicker of jealousy. "Did he come with you?"

"Yes, and we found others."

"I see."

"Ten are now dead, and one has defected, if he even worked for us in the first place."

A strange look passed over the girl's face. In the dim light, Morraine read it as shock, though her eyes spoke of grim acceptance. "This hasn't happened before. Robin Hood is supposed to be a good and faithful leader," she whispered. "What went wrong?"

"We're human, Jesse. Any human can choose wealth over allegiance, power and prestige over loyalty and allies."

"You seem pretty understanding," the boy to Jesse's right said. Morraine merely nodded at this.

"The boy with you, he bears some resemblance to the Dark One, at least, based on what I've heard," Jesse said. Morraine threw a glance over her shoulder at Bae, whose face was turned toward them. How could she not notice such a small detail? She was supposed to do what she could to protect his identity. Jesse caught this movement and turned to the boys. "Could you two go find some firewood? We still need to find breakfast." The boys glanced at each other, but they nodded and disappeared into the forest. "I won't tell them," she said to Morraine.

"Thank you," Morraine replied.

Jesse walked over to Bae and cocked her head to one side. "I wonder what he feels at this point in his life. I wonder if he still thinks his father is a coward."

"How do you know these things?"

"In my time, before Sherwood, we had stories of the Golden Age, when magic brought happy endings, or it could. There were stories of a time before, but only slightly so. There were stories of a man named Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One, and a son, whom he released into the depths of the unknown because he was too much of a coward to follow. There were stories of all the deals he made, to witches, mortals, fey, anyone he thought he could get something from. There was even a miller's daughter whose own daughter became queen and gained tremendous magical power at the price of the fate of her firstborn."

"Who was she?"

"The miller's granddaughter? Her name was Regina, and she was said to have cast a curse upon the land, sending many of the inhabitants to a land without magic. The curse proper was broken, according to rumor, but they never returned home."

"Storybrooke, Maine."

Jesse turned toward Morraine. "What?"

"There's a little town here called Storybrooke. I think this could be the place you're talking about. Once the Ring broke, we were supposed to return to the Enchanted Forest and be able to find our way home, if we still had one, but we ended up here, instead. And the magic Bae feels here, it used to be the curse, but the curse is weak, and the magic came back somehow. Here, Rumpelstiltskin is a man dressed in strange but expensive-looking clothes who walks with a cane, and there is a woman here named Regina, and a man named Jefferson. Does any of this sound familiar?"

"You mean to tell me that the characters of the Golden Age legends came here?"

"That's what it seems like to me, based on what you just said."

Jesse stared at her in silence for a moment, and then she looked at Bae and back to Morraine again. "What will it look like when we finally get to go home?" she asked.

"What was it like when you left?"

"Cold and dead." She turned away and wiped her eyes. "Years could pass in lands with magic and only minutes in lands without, or vise versa," she said, her voice surprisingly even.

"So it might've warmed up."

Jesse shook her head. The boys returned from the forest with bundles of sticks in their arms, and she went to work with them. Morraine watched as they relit the fire, unable to take her mind off of Jesse's words. She didn't remember a cold, dead Enchanted Forest, so that meant Jesse was either from the future or the far distant past.

Then there was something she said about the time difference between lands with magic and lands without. It implied that one could fall asleep venturing to the border of a magical land, return home, and find that centuries had passed. It reminded her of stories she'd heard of travelers who would fall asleep out beyond the Enchanted Forest and return months or even years later.

But how did all this fit together? Jesse certainly gave no indication that she wanted to keep talking.

Bae moaned and shifted position, jerking Morraine out of her thoughts. She knelt beside him just as he opened his eyes, and then she stood, mentally scolding herself. "What's wrong?" he asked, propping himself up on his arms.

"Nothing. I..." she began. She looked over her shoulder at Jesse and then back at Bae. "Have you heard anything about the Enchanted Forest, or has the Ring been too thick?"

"Why do you ask?"

She took a seat next to him and summarized what Jesse had told her. As she talked, she noticed something she hadn't before, when she was merely thinking about it. Jesse had mentioned tales of a Golden Age, in particular that Rumpelstiltskin had lost Bae and made a deal with a miller's daughter and all that. "She's from the future," she said.

"Jesse?"

"Yeah. It makes sense now, and I feel like an idiot for missing it before."

"She only just told you."

"I know, but still."

Bae shifted his position, allowing him to lean closer to her. "You're not an idiot, M. Trust me, I know." She smiled to him, and he responded. "But we can worry about Jesse's story later, if we need to worry about it at all. Right now, we have the prince, Fallon, and any other knife issues that might happen to crop up."

She nodded, her face returning to its perfect mask. She had a sense of purpose and mission, and he knew it. She helped him to his feet, and by then the four that came with them were awake and about, and the three working on the fire had finished. Jesse walked toward them and asked, "So, where do we start?"

OUAT

Bae and Morraine were in the process of leading the seven other surviving Merry Men through the forest in search of a decent and not-obvious hiding place when he stopped and gestured for the others to do the same. Morraine shot him a look and asked, "What is it?"

"I feel something," he replied softly. And he did. Carried softly on the breeze and filtered by the leaves of the trees and the underbrush of the forest floor, was the crackle of extremely powerful magic in a concentrated form. "It looks like our target has found us."

"Indeed it has," Fallon said, stepping out of the woods as if appearing out of the shadows themselves. Behind him was the dark cloud of the prince, a clear gesture of support. "But I'm afraid you've got it mistaken, and we're not the targets." Fallon aimed a crossbow at Morraine. "You are." Bae stepped between Morraine and Fallon and stared him down.

Then he walked forward, his eyes hard and his mouth set. "You think I'm going to hide? You think I'm going to run home with my tail between my legs so you can point and laugh and gloat?"

"No, but if you are, I'd love to see it."

Bae's hand shot forward, catching Fallon by the neck. "I'd kill you, but I don't think we need another wraith on our hands." Bae released Fallon and took a step back. "Alright, so you want to kill us. Why haven't you started?"

Fallon rubbed his neck and stared at Bae. "I...they said..."

"They said what?"

"They...they said that you...the Dark One..."

"They. Said. What?"

"They said you always hid behind him."

Bae punched Fallon across the face, causing the latter to stumble backward and bend over. When Fallon regained his footing and glared up at Bae, he saw a youth staring at him with eyes of stone. He stood gingerly, and then, in one motion, he lunged for Bae and tackled him to the ground. He was about to pound his adversary's head into the forest floor when two arrows embedded themselves in his side and shoulder. Fallon stumbled back and stared at the two shooters, Morraine and Jesse.

Bae got to his feet and nocked an arrow in his own bow. He took aim, watching Fallon down the shaft of the arrow with the same stony stare. Fallon stumbled back, and the other two shooters approached, effectively trapping him between the foliage and his certain death. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the cloud behind him, but it didn't budge.

Morraine and Jesse looked to Bae, who responded with a glance in their direction before returning his gaze to Fallon, who straightened and began to engage Bae in something of a standoff. "Go ahead. Shoot me," Fallon said.

"Do we really need another wraith on our hands?" Bae replied.

"Maybe you do." Fallon threw his hands into the air and disappeared inside the shadows. Bae's eyes widened as the cloud moved toward him, and he turned to leave, but he didn't move more than a millimeter before he felt something sharp tear across his jaw and send him forward and into the forest floor.

Morraine turned and fired into the cloud, blind. She regretted her choice almost instantly, but as the cloud coalesced back into Fallon, she noticed that the arrow had sliced cleanly through his upper abdomen until the arrowhead protruded from his back. A little better shot, and she would've tagged him in the heart or a lung. She would've exacerbated the problem, certainly, but a wraith with a human sidekick had his bases covered. Two wraiths did not.

Fallon struggled to his feet, but his hands slipped on the pool of blood that formed in the grass underneath him. He snapped the arrow in two and pushed one end through his back. He gained footing with his knees and reached behind him to pull the rest of the arrow free, but he continued to bleed.

"Hold him," she said to Jesse, and she ran to Bae's side, slung his arm over her shoulder, and pulled him back toward the rest of the Merry Men. "Go, go, go. Make for the town. It's our only chance." The Merry Men ran, all but Jesse, with her arrow still nocked and her shot aimed and ready. Morraine shuffled toward the kids, continually shouting at them to run, an unconscious Bae still slung over her shoulder. With her free hand, Morraine grabbed Jesse by the arm, spun her around, and pushed her into the woods. "Run," she yelled, barely masking the panic in her voice. Jesse looked over her shoulder at Morraine, but she, too, ran.

Morraine pulled Bae through the shadows, down the path, wondering where she started shooting blind, where she stopped aiming and trying to reach a goal, hit a target. Where she started trusting her heart.

Bae moaned, and his head rolled. "Bae, Bae, I've got you and we're getting out of here. He's going to turn into a wraith, but that's good. That means we can beat both of them at once, but we need magic." Bae mumbled something unintelligible but which sounded suspiciously like "Papa." "Bae, it's alright. We're going to solve this. We just need to get out of here first."

"M," he muttered. It came out sounding almost like a hum or a groan. Morraine threw a glance over her shoulder toward the dense cloud of shadows that chose to roll over the forest floor rather than give chase outright. With a heavy weight in her stomach, she continued down the hill, watching through the trees for any sign of the bridge.

OUAT

Gold walked to his car with the knife box tucked under his free arm, but within three feet of his ride home, two prods struck his back, and his body convulsed. He fell forward, his head slamming into the window. The cane and the box fell from his grip.

Once Gold collapsed, the man returned the taser to its holster, picked up the box, and walked out of the alley.

As soon as he was sure he was out of earshot, he pulled out a cell phone and pressed a number on his speed dial. "I've got it," he said.

"Good. You know where to meet up," the woman on the other end of the line replied. The line went dead. He closed the phone, pocketed it, and continued down the street.


	20. In the Mental Ward

In the Mental Ward

Morraine immediately knew something was wrong when the nine of them reached the town. Bae had come to by then and proven that he could still walk, but he kept by her side, anyway. She could tell by his eyes that he felt it, too. He could feel evil.

The Merry Men reached an alley, and Bae held up a hand to stop them. "Bae?" Morraine asked. He stepped into the alley, around a car and over the broken glass that had fallen from its window. In his peripheral vision, he could see someone walking away from the alley, a man clad in black, talking in that strange way everyone in this strange land seemed to be able to do. But his attention was on the man laying in the broken glass, a pool of blood beneath a wound in his head.

He knelt next to the man and studied the head wound. The bleeding had stopped, but the man was unconscious. Bae touched him, only to have his hand zapped. He jerked back and shook his hand out. "Be careful," he said to the others who approached him. "This isn't magic, but it's powerful. I think the people in this world created it to subdue people."

"Why?" Morraine asked.

"No matter where you go, people make enemies of each other." With his foot, Bae nudged the man's hand toward the car. There was a spark as they made contact, and when Bae touched the man again, he noticed that he felt none of this energy. "It should be safe now."

Morraine and Bae carefully rolled the man onto his back, revealing none other than Rumpelstiltskin. Bae wanted to marvel at the fact that something created in this world could bring such a powerful man down, but he didn't have time for it. Right now his father needed medical attention.

Morraine held a hand to his nose and waited. "He's breathing," she said.

"Good," he replied. He looked up at the others, who stood in a cluster near the car, their backs to the street save the backs of two heads who were keeping watch. A groan attracted his attention, and he watched as Rumpelstiltskin turned his head to one side and groaned again. "Roll him over," he said. He and Morraine pushed up on the unconscious man's back so that he lay more on his side. Rumpelstiltskin coughed and began pushing himself up onto his elbows.

"Bae, is that you?" he asked.

"Yes, Papa, it's me. I think we came in time," Bae replied.

"I was tased, not shot." Bae paused, and Rumpelstiltskin, with some help, sat up on his knees, giving him a clear view of Bae's blank expression. "Sorry," he said. "It's easy for me to forget. What I mean by that is, it could've been much worse."

"Oh."

Rumpelstiltskin grabbed his cane and pulled himself to his feet. Bae and Morraine stood. Bae glanced down at the pile of broken glass to notice that there was the impression of a box. The box that made it was nowhere to be found and seemed to have the same dimensions as the box they had recovered from Regina's castle. To Bae that meant one thing. She took it back.

The man that walked away from the alley when they first arrived, was he a thug? A passerby? He was most likely long gone by then, but the fact that he was there in the first place was still worrysome. "Did you see what happened to the knife?" Bae asked, turning back toward his father.

"I was unconscious before that," he replied.

"Well, it's missing, and I've got a feeling we know who has it now, or who will, soon."

Morraine glanced at Bae, but she understood immediately. She'd understood all along, it seemed. "Will we make it that far this time?" she asked.

"There's only one way to be sure," Bae replied. Morraine shot him an anxious look that wasn't lost on Rumpelstiltskin, but Bae said, "We've done this before."

"She knows that," she replied. "She's not going to keep it on her anymore. She's going to find somewhere else to put it. Somewhere where she knows we're not going to look, a place that most don't even know exists."

"Then we have to find such a place." Bae looked at his father. "Where does that place exist?"

"The Genie's holding cell in the mental ward," Rumpelstiltskin replied, as if he were talking about the weather or the policies of the latest ruler of such and such a kingdom.

"What?"

"You'll see."

OUAT

Bae and Morraine walked through the town of Storybrooke, close at the heels of Rumpelstiltskin. Many of the people they saw on their journey first cast curious glances their way, and then they seemed in a hurry to return to their affairs. Even here, Bae noted with a curious (to him) lack of feeling, people are afraid of his father.

The three turned a corner and then walked into a building. Rumpelstiltskin exchanged a few words with a woman behind the desk, and they walked to an exit which led to a secret stairwell. For a moment, Bae wondered about the Merry Men sent to keep watch at the queen's castle and other places about town, but he didn't spend too much time on the thought.

Rumpelstiltskin charmed his way past another receptionist, and a couple security personnel literally looked the other way. They stopped in front of a door, and it popped open to Rumpelstiltskin's will alone. Bae and Morraine crept close to each other.

The three stepped into the room, and Bae's hand shot out to grab Rumpelstiltskin's arm. "Something's wrong," he said. "Get the knife and let's go."

"Bae?" Morraine and Rumpelstiltskin asked at once, looking at him.

"Just go. I don't like this."

Morraine stepped closer to Bae, and Rumpelstiltskin backed into the room. Bae watched over Morraine's shoulder as the shadows shifted in response to Rumpelstiltskin's presence. Rumpelstiltskin turned and felt along the bed. Finding nothing, he moved on to the desk. But the second he removed something from the drawer, Bae shot forward, past Morraine. The door closed behind them, and the subsequent click echoed through the shadow-ridden room.

Bae's pulse quickened, and Morraine's fingers tightened around his arm. The shadows swirled and then began to take on a solid form. Bae swore loudly. Rumpelstiltskin snapped his head toward him. "Don't say it," Bae said through his teeth. A heavy silence fell over the room.

Morraine released Bae's arm, and he began to cross the distance between himself and Rumpelstiltskin. But before he got anywhere near making progress, hands shot out of the darkness and wrapped around his neck and mouth. Bae reached for the arms in an effort to pull himself free of them, and it surprised him to feel flesh. Was I expecting, a corpse? he wondered. Wait, what?

The puzzlement was swiftly replaced by a renewed struggle to free himself. Morraine shot toward Bae and his attacker, and Bae turned, placing the assailant in her path. She tore at his skin, and his hold on Bae slipped. Bae pulled free and turned, punching the attacker across the face. Only Morraine's hold on him kept him from falling to the ground. The boy slowly looked up at Bae. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to come back," Bae said, folding his arms across his chest. "What are you doing here, Fallon? Do you want the knife for your master? Well, I'm sorry to say this, but you have to tell Prince John that his precious knife belongs to us."

"Not a hope in hell," Fallon spat, lunging for Bae. Morraine twisted Fallon's arms behind him. He let out a cry of pain, and Rumpelstiltskin approached them. He let the box fall to the floor, and he held the knife loosely in one hand. The cane dangled from one arm, and the limp seemed miraculously cured or treated by magic. Most likely the latter, Bae thought.

Rumpelstiltskin walked in front of Fallon and pressed the knife to his throat. He knelt so that he was eye level with the boy and leaned forward until he was inches from Fallon's nose, and he snarled, "You're lucky this girl is alive, because she stopped you from making the biggest-and last-mistake of your life." Fallon moved forward, but the blade cut into his skin, keeping him in place. "Do you want to live?"

"Why? You kill me, I live forever," Fallon said.

"As a rotting corpse," Morraine said. "Just like John." She looked up from Fallon's head and straight at Rumpelstiltskin. "Kill him. Take John's protection and insurance." Rumpelstiltskin blinked and looked blank for a moment, then he looked back down at Fallon and grinned. Bae shot Morraine a look, and she responded with her best apologetic face.

Bae looked past Morraine and into the shadows. A form was slightly visible in the corner, and he asked, "Are you just going to stand there? Afraid you're going to die, so you're sacrificing your young assistant? Or are you hoping to adopt a better one, one who won't fail you or let me slip right through your rotting, maggot-ridden fingers?"

The form moved toward him, clearly having assumed the persona of Prince John, and pushed his way past Morraine and Fallon. Before Bae could fully register what happened, he found himself pressed against the wall, one of the wraith's rotten, sticky-slimy hands around his neck. Bae couldn't be sure what he wanted more: his freedom, or to puke.

Rumpelstiltskin jerked away from Fallon, giving him a small cut on the neck, and drove the knife deep into the wraith's back with a grunt. Fallon twisted and screamed, and the wraith froze and began shaking. Bae slid down the wall to the floor, bits and pieces of the corpse's hand around his neck. He wiped them off with his sleeve and turned to the side, waiting for his nausea to run its course.

Fallon continued to struggle against Morraine as the wraith continued to shake violently under the knife. The former Merry Man lurched forward one final time, just as Rumpelstiltskin tore the knife out of the wraith's back and caused its explosion into mulch.

Bae, half of him covered with the gunk, threw up.

Morraine released the body. Rumpelstiltskin knelt beside Bae and struggled a little with hand placement as Bae began to recover from his nausea. She stood and stepped over Fallon, straight to the door. She tried the handle and turned toward Rumpelstiltskin and Bae. "We have a problem," she said. Rumpelstiltskin looked over his shoulder at her. "We're trapped."


	21. Desperate Act

Desperate Act

Bae sputtered, coughed, and looked over his shoulder. The slime was thick on his clothing and the flesh of his face and neck, and he thanked the gods that he was wearing long sleeves. Rumpelstiltskin walked over to Morraine, who had abandoned Fallon's body to stand by the door and study it intently. "What do you mean, we're trapped?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

With one hand on the wall to steady himself in case anything happened, Bae stood. He turned slowly toward them. Rumpelstiltskin tried the lock and paused, waiting. The door wasn't responding, Bae realized, somewhat dimly. Something was working against him. Bae's hand drifted off the wall as he continued to turn. "I guess we are trapped," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Regina," Bae managed. He walked toward the door and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath despite the scent of corpse all over him. The feeling he got from the door definitely reminded him of the woman he'd seen off and on throughout town. "She seems to have been in a hurry," he said, "but it's pretty good for a rush job. She expects us to be here a very, very long time."

"Is there a way around it?" Morraine asked.

"I'd check the hinges."

The smell was starting to get to Bae. He stumbled in an effort to keep himself from falling over, and he felt his father grab his arm. He cleared his throat and shook his head.

Rumpelstiltskin flicked his wrist, and the door split in two lenghtwise. The half that used to be attached to the hinges fell, leaning against the opposite wall. The half containing the door handle was still firmly in place. Morraine stepped onto the plank and then into the hall, followed closely by Bae and Rumpelstiltskin. "The question is," Morraine said, "why would anyone want to trap us down here in the first place?"

"Excellent question," a woman said from behind them. All three turned to find a black-haired woman in a black suit standing past the broken door, her weight on one foot and her arms folded.

"Regina, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever catch you with that knife. And oh, look. It's those two kids you're trying to protect."

"How do you know that?"

"You're not the only one with eyes and ears in this town."

"What do you think I'm going to do? Kill myself?"

She gestured to Bae. "Kill _him_."

Rumpelstiltskin laughed, slipping into a shrill, insane-sounding chortle that could curdle blood. Bae had to smirk, though. The thought of his father even thinking of such a thing seemed absolutely laughable, if not for the circumstances during which the subject was brought up. Eventually, Rumpelstiltskin recovered himself. The knife dangled in his hand, and he was still smiling. "Dearie, I hate to burst your pretty little bubble, but that's not going to happen."

"Then why the hell did you cast the spell in the first place?"

"I told you. Figure. It. Out."

"You're not exactly giving me any hints here."

"Are you even trying? Don't you see anything? Little clues left behind? Anything strange in the nature of the curse? Anything at all? There's no wrong answer." Regina narrowed her eyes. "Oh, no guesses? Not one? For a woman who seems to know everything, you're not very perceptive most times."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I want you to tell me why I created this curse, designed this place. Of course, I know why I did it, but do you?"

Regina righted the door with a wave of her hand and walked toward Rumpelstiltskin. "You know what? I don't care why you did it. I'm going to make it last forever."

"Good luck with that."

"Thank you." She rushed him, one hand shooting straight for the knife. He tossed it behind him, and Morraine snatched it from the ground before Bae could get to it. Morraine gestured Bae toward the stairs, and Bae looked back at his father. He looked back at Morraine and shook his head.

She gestured frantically, casting glances at Regina and Rumpelstiltskin, engaged in some sort of standoff. He looked at Rumpelstiltskin and swallowed. Then he looked back at her and shook his head. "I can't leave him," he mouthed.

"Bae," she mouthed back. Fear seemed to possess her.

"Get the knife out of here."

Morraine shot forward, grabbed him by the shirt with her free hand, slammed him back against a wall, and kissed him. He let out a muffled _oomf_, causing both combatants to turn their attention toward them.

Rumpelstiltskin took advantage of the opportunity and reached for the nearest fire alarm. And pulled.

Piercing sound ripped through the corridor. Bae and Morraine both cried out, clapped their hands over their ears, and dropped to their knees. Rumpelstiltskin rushed to the kids and said, "Come on." The three stood and moved straight for the stairwell, and Rumpelstiltskin turned back toward Regina, who moved to follow them. He smiled. "Please. Hold down the fort for us."

She froze. "Damn you," she growled. He turned and hurried up the stairs after the kids.

OUAT

Something on Emma's computer beeped, and she snatched her jacket off the chair and rushed out of the office without looking back. She reached the hospital in record time, and she listened for anything unusual. So far, it seemed as if the hospital was operating as normal. As far as they were concerned, nothing had happened other than the usual.

Slowly, she walked about the lobby, and as she passed an exit door, she heard it. The muffled sound of a fire alarm. She drew her gun, opened the door, and slipped inside, only to be met by a shower from the sprinklers overhead. She descended the stairs, shoving any questions she had about them to the back of her mind.

Regina stood in the center of the hall, seething. Her mood worsened upon seeing Emma, especially when the latter seemed almost...smug. "What? Here to arrest me?"

"Call you in for questioning," she replied. "After all, somebody pulled this fire alarm, and the fact that you're down here tells me you know more than you're letting on."

"About what?"

"Judging by the looks of this place, a lot of things. You're coming with me."

Emma pulled Regina along by the arm and pulled her up the stairs.

OUAT

The first sign of trouble came when Regina slipped out of Emma's hands and bolted down the street at the first opportunity. "Hey," she shouted, giving chase. Two armed men appeared out of an alley and began shooting at her. She dodged as best she could, but she couldn't let Regina disappear. Not this time. Not when she felt the other world so close.

Focus, she told herself. This is the real world. Real world rules still apply.

No, a voice in her head said. This isn't the real world. It's the fairy tale world brought to the real world. Real world rules do not apply. Fairy tale rules do.

She pushed this thought from the front of her brain, but the train tugged at her, driving her forward. Regina continued, turning onto a side street leading to a very familiar mansion.

Emma unholstered her gun.

OUAT

Bae and Morraine had barely gotten through the back door of Jefferson's mansion when the front door was kicked open. The kids froze. Belle appeared from the living room, and Jefferson stopped on the landing. Regina stormed through the foyer, producing something Bae and Morraine didn't recognize. She aimed the thing, and it cracked.

Pain tore through Bae's shoulder, and he immediately worked to control his breathing. Morraine pushed him into a closet and examined the wound, helping Bae breathe.

OUAT

Jefferson held his hands up and eased his way down the rest of the flight of stairs. "Put the gun down," he said. "There's no use shooting anybody."

"Give it up, Regina," Emma said from the doorway, aiming her own weapon and holding it with both hands.

"I'm not going anywhere until I get that boy alive," Regina said.

"Whatever you need him for, he's not gonna do you any good if he bleeds out," Jefferson replied.

"Regina, put the gun down and back up slowly," Emma said, struggling to keep her tone even. How did it get so bad? she wondered. Regina didn't drop the gun, but she did put both her hands up. Emma inched closer. "No sudden moves, or you'll get shot."

"Then I may as well stand here," Regina said bitterly.

"You can do that, too, but don't shoot anyone else."

Emma reached Regina and gestured with her head. Jefferson snatched the gun out of her hand, and Emma slapped a pair of handcuffs on the other woman's wrists. "What are you doing?" Regina snapped.

"You did try to kill someone," Emma replied evenly. Then, she read the mayor her rights.


	22. Impression

Impression

Gold walked down the corridor and into the hospital room, still affecting a limp. Bae lay on the bed, a bandage over his shoulder, another on his ankle, and half of his face red as if scrubbed raw. He walked to the side of the bed, and, as if on cue, nearly everyone else left the room. He sat on the bed and took his son's hand in his own. Bae's eyes met his, and he smiled. The corner's of Bae's mouth twiched, eventually morphing into a smile to reciprocate. "You're going to be alright, Bae," Gold whispered.

"The medicine man says I will," Bae replied. "I still smell like a corpse, though, and I probably will for weeks."

"Did they ask any questions?"

"They seemed to understand when I mentioned the wraith." Gold nodded. Bae licked his upper lip and glanced toward the ceiling before looking back at his father. "Papa, what do you think of the person I am now? Are you proud of me?"

"I've always been proud of you, Bae, and I've always admired your bravery. Sometimes I wish I could be like you."

"You do?"

"Yes, Bae."

Gold ran his thumb back and forth across the back of Bae's hand, and Bae's smile widened. Then he exhaled softly. "Are you going to go back to trying to be my magical protector?"

Something in Bae's eyes pulled Gold's response out of him before he could think about it. "Does it cause you pain?"

"People died when I recieved the smallest of injuries. I was terrified of what would happen if something serious happened to me, and now something has. Innocents could die, Papa."

"No," Gold whispered. "I'm not going to make that mistake again. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to let you go."

"Do I have your word?"

Gold held his hand out. Bae stared at it a moment, remembering the last time he shook hands with his father, struck a deal. "I've only broken one deal in my life, Bae. The one I made with you."

"That's the only one?"

"Yes."

"Do you swear to me that this time will be different?"

"I swear."

"You know I'm going to hold you to this."

"I expect nothing less." Bae shook his father's hand. "I never stopped looking for you, Bae," he whispered, pushing some hair out of the boy's face. "I missed you so much."

"We found each other again."

"And I'm not losing you." He pulled the rest of Bae's hair back and kissed his forehead. "I'm not losing you."

OUAT

A knock at the door prompted Emma to walk over to it and answer. Henry gave her a quick 'hey' and walked in. "What are you doing here?" Emma asked, closing the door.

"The deputies that showed up at the house didn't want me to get into any trouble," Henry replied.

"The deputies? The ones I sent to search her place?"

"I think so." Emma nodded. "Emma, do you know what it means that Regina's in jail?"

"She committed a crime and-oh, yeah. Curse-wise. We're almost home?"

"Bingo."

"Hey, Henry." Mary Margaret asked, breezing to the island. "What're we talking about?"

"Hey, Snow."

"We were just talking about the curse," Emma said. "Apparently we're closer to where we started because Regina's in jail."

"What's she in jail for?"

"Attempted murder."

"What?"

"She shot a kid in the shoulder. He's fine, of course, in the hospital, but she's got a lot of questions to answer."

"Oh, dear. Well..."

"Yeah, I'm a little unsure of this, too. Don't worry."

"I'm not. It's just...strange. After so long being stuck here. We could go home, and you're making it happen."

"Yeah, it feels weird to me, too." It feels weird to me, too, Emma repeated in her mind.

OUAT

Long after Rumpelstiltskin left, Bae closed his eyes and tried to sleep. After all, that seemed to be what the medicine man in the white coat wanted. But his mind drifted away from sleep toward the strange new feeling that had taken over the town. There was a sense of closeness to something. A source of magic, perhaps? Home? Hope? Freedom?

The impression was too vague for a good identification, but it was there, all over. It seemed everyone could sense it on some level.

What was this world closer to that it wasn't earlier? He couldn't be sure, but he had his hopes. And his fears, no matter what his father said or what deals the two struck.

Bae swallowed, pushed these thoughts out of his mind, and tried to go through statistics. There were nine surviving Merry Men hiding in various places throughout Storybrooke. He was on the road to a full recovery, and Morraine was safe. The thought made him smile. So long as she was safe, he would pull through.

His face relaxed, his head rolled to one side, and his breathing slowed. Soon, Bae was asleep.


End file.
